Russell Westbrook has always had an affinity for fashion. Over the years, the NBA star has partnered with everyone from Barneys New York and Jordan Brand to True Religion and Zenith watches.
Nine years ago, he launched his own brand, Honor the Gift, an affordable streetwear label, and now he’s partnering with fashion industry veteran Gary Wassner, chief executive officer of Hilldun Corp., and his son Cole Wassner, CEO of Wassner Management Group, on a new elevated sportswear and denim collection called appropriately: Westbrook by HTG.
The line will make its debut on Wednesday during Paris Men’s Fashion Week. It will be shown at 24 Rue Beranger through July 2, before coming back to the States for appointments at the M5 Showroom at 174 Hudson Street.
“This is not a celebrity collection,” Gary Wassner said. “It’s not your typical luxury streetwear brand. It’s inspired by what Russell likes to wear and is comfortable. It’s the grown-up version of what he’s done in the past.”
A look from Westbrook by HTG.
Andrew Werner
The launch collection is extensive, featuring 61 pieces, including shirts, sweatshirts, pants, jeans and outerwear, ranging in price at retail from $158 to $5,410. Among the pieces that are expected to be most popular are an embroidered pigskin leather jacket, embellished jeans and oversize T-shirts.
Wassner said Westbrook actually designed every piece. “He worked on the graphics and the prints,” he said. “It’s coming from his heart and his style. He loves it, he wears it, he experiments. He’s not conservative in his dressing so with this collection, it gave him an opportunity to design product for his age group, his demographic: a more mature, fashion-conscious individual.”
Wassner said he and Cole worked with Westbrook back in 2014 when the athlete curated a men’s collection for Barneys and they were reintroduced by a mutual friend around three years ago.
“Russell was interested in elevating his collection and creating what we just described,” Wassner said. And knowing that he works with some 500 brands including high-end labels such as Amiri, Casablanca and Rhude, “he thought I would make a good partner. I handle the business side of it, so it made perfect sense. Russell and I talked and we agreed on where he wanted to go. I’ve always admired him from a fashion perspective since he has a clear point of view, and his own taste level. He’s not copying people. It’s his own, whether it’s the width of a sleeve or the graphic, or the hem. So I was anxious to create a company with him, and we did.”
Wassner said that while he’s an equity partner and financing Westbrook by HTG, it is completely separate from Honor the Gift, which is targeted to a younger customer. “It’s a different price point, it’s a very different look,” Wassner said. “Russell is from inner city L.A. and Honor the Gift is his commitment to giving back to that community.”
“Honor the Gift has always been about where I come from and the values and influences that shaped me,” Westbrook said. “This new luxury line is a natural evolution of that. It’s about elevating and blending elegance and edge, and I’m excited to show that through my perspective with this new line.”
Wassner said the launch of Westbrook by HTG is wholesale only but plans call for introducing an e-commerce site in the future. “Our plan is to start introducing direct-to-consumer, but we’re not there yet,” Wassner said.
For Westbrook, continuing to feed his fashion engine with a more elevated collection makes sense.
The 36-year-old NBAer is considered one of basketball’s all-time greatest point guards. He played for the Nuggets last season but is now a free agent. Rumors in the market are that he may join his former teammate Kevin Durant on the Houston Rockets since Durant was just traded there the other day by the Phoenix Suns in a blockbuster deal. Durant and Westbrook both played on the Oklahoma City Thunder earlier in their careers.
