Stylish Serge has got game
Basketball great is making a case for it in collaboration with Canadian brand Nobis
Raptor with a passion for fashion teams up with Nobis brand,
Scroll through photos of any recent Paris Fashion Week and you’ll likely find Toronto Raptors forward Serge Ibaka sitting front row, wearing something delightfully unexpected. His penchant for bright colours, bucket hats and the occasional kilt are next-level even for the famously stylish NBA player crowd (Ibaka’s friend Kawhi Leonard reportedly texted him, “Bro, what the hell are you wearing?” after seeing photos of Ibaka in a Thom Browne skirt suit). That’s part of what makes Ibaka’s collaboration with Nobis, the Canadian outerwear and accessories brand, so exciting: He’s been a face of the brand before, but this collection marks his first official foray into the world of fashion design. “Everything you see in the collection is me,” says Ibaka, over the phone from Miami. “It’s my vision, my style. It’s what I like in fashion. We started from scratch and they gave me the opportunity to share my vision with my fans.”
Developed over the past year, the collection features nine limited-edition, genderless pieces ($60 to $995), including parkas, vests and, of course, scarves — a playful tribute to Ibaka’s viral video with Raptors teammate OG Anunoby (google “What about scarves?” immediately if you’ve never seen it). Many of the pieces feature Ibaka’s signature “Mafuzzy” catchphrase, a nod to his Congolese background and the subsequent Mafuzzy empire he’s built, including his Mafuzzy Chef YouTube series, How Hungry Are You?
Ibaka’s influence, however, goes way beyond the catchphrase, says Michael Kerr, the senior design director of Nobis. “Serge went in his own closet and began to pull out his favourite pieces,” says Kerr about the first phases of the collaboration. Colour choices, footwear and anoraks directly from Ibaka’s closet serve as creative inspiration across the collection.
Ibaka was involved with the design process, too. “We left all trims and materials at Serge’s place, so he was able to pull out looks and details that he liked, and then we would apply them to the designs,” says Kerr. “He’s got great fashion references and he knows what he wants. He knows the silhouettes and the looks, and he’s able to call out key features. He’d say, ‘This zipper has to be this way,’ or ‘I want it to pop here and stand back here.’ ” Ibaka attributes this attention to detail to the fact that he “wanted to develop something that I would love to wear, too. I don’t just wake up and get dressed. I wake up and do art.”
Creative passion drives the star’s offthe-court style, but Ibaka says this year’s unconventional NBA bubble was tough. “You cannot be with your family, you cannot go out, you have to train almost every day,” he says. “You have to be mentally strong every night to go out there to play.” The bubble dampened his inspiration to create the “game day looks” he’s known for. “I didn’t really want to do art there — in my mind, I didn’t have time to make art for the bubble.” He felt enlivened, though, by attending Paris Fashion Week in October, citing the Balmain show as a highlight: “I really loved the collection. It was a different setup this year because of COVID but the way they did it was amazing. I was grateful to be there.” (Ibaka’s on-court fashion approach is much more straightforward: “I don’t focus on trying to look stylish. I’m there to work.”)
Despite Ibaka’s affinity for high fashion, his father is his ultimate style inspiration: “I get my style from him. My dad — he’s classy but never boring. He’s a very stylish man.” The inspiration started at a young age, when Ibaka would browse his dad’s closet: “When I was young, I used to wear his stuff, sometimes he’d lend me items and I wouldn’t give them back … that happened more than once.”
So can we expect to see fellow Raptors teammates decked out in Ibaka’s Nobis collection alongside him in the upcoming NBA season? Ibaka is quick to correct me when I ask, letting out a big, long
Developed over the past year, the collection features nine limited-edition, genderless pieces
laugh and emphasizing “teammates, teammates” noticeably not mentioning the Raptors, leading to even more speculation the free agent is open to opportunities that may be coming his way. That said, he admits that the collection would look good on Raptors’ OG Anunoby: “He likes the long coats, he likes scarves, he likes the colourful bucket hats.”
While Ibaka’s future with the Raptors may be uncertain, his status as style icon certainly isn’t. Could more collaborations be on the horizon?
“I would love to,” says Ibaka. If his first fashion collection is any indication, Ibaka is just getting started. THE KIT Your all-in-one guide to the best fashion trends to try and the best beauty products to buy. Visit thekit.ca/sign-upnow for daily news