If You’re Just Now Tuning Into the WNBA, Its OG Merch Brand Told You So
When I called up Esther Wallace, the mind behind WNBA merch brand Playa Society, I prefaced our conversation with a warning: "I'm no sports girly, so bear with me, please." She kindly laughed.
My eyes aren't glued to ESPN on a regular basis. I have basically one catchphrase for every athletic event: "Go sports."
But even I know that women's basketball has exploded in popularity recently: sold-out games, record-shattering viewership, and tunnel ‘fits supplied by luxury brands like Prada and Fendi. Analysts are calling it a "new era" for the WNBA, America’s premiere women's basketball league .
It's good that the WNBA is finally getting its well-deserved flowers — scratch that, it's a great thing. And Esther Wallace agrees.
Wallace has been on all sides of women's basketball — she played, coached, and remains a mega fan. These experiences led her to her current role: designing the world’s coolest women's sports merch with her brand, Playa Society.
On top of a general admiration for hooping, Wallace’s senior thesis inspired her to create Playa Society in 2018. Her graduate research project centered around the lack of representation in sports advertising apparel.
Positioned to fill a gap in women's sportswear, a severely overlooked and underrepresented niche, Playa Society specializes in clothes that celebrates women's hoops and beyond, designed by a woman who loves basketball.
Playa Society's first drop set the brand’s tone: it was a “Female Athlete” graphic T-shirt, except the word “female” was crossed out.
Since established as the destination for top-notch women's basketball merch (U.S. Women's National Soccer Team pieces too), Playa Society has built a steady following beyond fans of women's basketball, even counting some players among its community, like the Indiana Fever's Aliyah Boston and Washington Mystics’ Shakira Austin. WNBA legends Candace Parker and Sherly Swoopes are also part of Playa Society’s…society.
Playa Society's clothes tend to sell out as quickly as they drop and though Wallace will sometimes restock them, subsequent batches will get snatched up, too. By 2021, riding a wave of success, Wallace started partnering directly with the WNBA for collaborative collections.
Drawing inspiration from influential streetwear entrepreneurs like Joe Freshgoods and Pyer Moss founder Kerby Jean Raymond, Playa Society offers up nostalgic “big head” A’ja Wilson and Kamila Cardoso graphics on vintage-style tees. Even the standard WNBA logo is enlivened atop quintessential heavyweight layers.
Some cool quick-fact pieces underscore underappreciated truisms: one "WNBA Black History Every Game" sweatshirt is printed with a stat pointing out that Black women comprise 80% of the WNBA’s players. The brand's recent "We Told You So" release included a hoodie stamped with a bubbly orange print reading, "If you're just now tuning into women's basketball, we told you so."
"'We Told You So' is really about this time in women's sports that many people call 'the moment,’” Wallace explained. “I don't like to call it a 'moment' because it gives the impression that it will fade. I think it will only grow.
“The drop spotlights the people who have vocally expressed their support and found ways to elevate the game with limited resources — just like Playa Society."
Wallace hopes her brand will help cast a long-overdue spotlight on women athletes and in turn, lead to better pay, brand deals, and storytelling opportunities.
"The thing about WNBA players is that they're so dynamic, and there's so much duality,” Wallace said. “And a lot of them really are interested in style and culture. As a league full of Black women, we have a hand in creating culture within society.”
What sets Playa Society’s clothes apart from other sports merch is the quality. Wallace sketches the designs by hand and remains heavily involved through the production process. She oversees every little detail, ensuring that fans get nothing but the best final product. No one is blessing women’s basketball fans with pieces as thoughtful as Wallace’s label.
"There's been such a void in WNBA merch for so long that there's no shortage of what can be created. We're still getting caught up," Wallace said.
"[The WNBA] is such an authentic space, and that authenticity is key to the league's success. Many players are naturally talented, fashionable, and dope women."
With more eyes on the WNBA and its players, fashion folks have zeroed in on the league's recent style highlights, like Caitlin Clark's high fashion WNBA debut and Angel Reese's commitment to showing up to games in heels. But Esther insists that WNBA tunnel 'fits have always been this good.
"WNBA players don't have huge salaries. Some of them are dressing themselves. A lot of them are, actually," Wallace told me. "You have women who are getting dressed and expressing themselves, and they're doing it in this dope way. That's worth celebrating and highlighting."
