Daily Fashion Juice
Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Athletes Hit the Front Rows at Fashion Week

Brad Richards, above, second from left, with fellow celebrities at the Tommy Hilfiger show.

A NEW face was turning heads at fashion shows this week, and it wasn’t Nicki Minaj (the Day-Glo-hued rapper, who sat next to Anna Wintour), Beyoncé (sporting a baby bump) or even another basketball all-star.

His name is Brad Richards, and for those inside the fashion beltway who don’t regularly watch ESPN, he is the new center for the New York Rangers hockey team, who just signed a $60-million contract.

Mr. Richards kicked off Fashion Week at the Hugo Boss and John Varvatos parties, then sat front row at the Tommy Hilfiger show on Friday, where he watched alongside Ed Westwick, James Marsden and Kellan Lutz.

“It’s my first Fashion Week,” said Mr. Richards, who is 31 and has CW-ready tousled hair and hunk stubble. “But I do like to look good.”

There may be more at play than just fashion tips. In recent years, it has become customary to see millionaire athletes sitting front row, coolly surveying the new looks in New York, as well as in Paris and Milan.

That’s especially true of basketball players. Amar’e Stoudemire, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh have become such regulars that they’re on a first-name basis with some of fashion’s royalty.

This week, they were joined by Carmelo Anthony of the Knicks, who snagged front-row seats at several shows, and LeBron James, who made a splash at the Michael Bastian show Monday.

“It’s no surprise,” said Joe Zee, the creative director of Elle. “In the last few years, fashion shows have become as much a spectator sport as about the fashion, with blinding paparazzi snapping celebs in every front row.”

As a marketing opportunity, Fashion Week is a win-win for athletes and designers, added Lucia McKelvey, a sports marketing executive in Washington.

Fashion houses, she said, get attention outside the fashion bubble, while athletes “build a mainstream pop-culture brand image, which can lead to more endorsement deals.”

Now hockey players seem to want in on the action, too. But that wasn’t always the case.

Sean Avery paved the way for this, said Michael Bastian, the designer for Gant, referring to the feisty Ranger who wears black nail polish and interned at Vogue.

“He proved that a famous athlete could be interested in clothes without it calling his masculinity in question,” Mr. Bastian said.

Ever since, the testosterone level on the front row has skyrocketed. “These guys are just like any other celebrity these days,” he added. “They blog and tweet, use stylists, get shot all the time. Going to fashion shows is really just the next step.”

Mr. Richards wasn’t the only Ranger to show up at the Lincoln Center tents. Brian Boyle, Steve Eminger, Brandon Prust, and Wojtek Wolski all made appearances. But Mr. Richards drew the most attention.

Still, he considered himself something of a fashion rookie, at least compared with his teammates. Mr. Avery, he said, is still the boldest dresser on his new team (“He’s a little more out there than I am, a little more brave”), and Henrik Lundqvist, the goalie, probably the snazziest (“He puts the work into it”).

Everyone in the clubhouse does his best to look sharp, he insisted. “I don’t think anyone sets the tone,” he added.

Spoken like a good teammate.
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