Hot Picks is a column in which fashion insiders reveal their latest obsessions–sharing their recent purchases and must-have pieces.
Kahleah Copper, originally from North Philadelphia says Teyana Taylor is one of her style icons. The WNBA player expresses that Taylor’s versatility is admirable. She enjoys how the singer and songwriter toys the line between masculine and feminine styles. In her eyes, she says this is her modus operandi when getting dressed. In addition to this ideal, she tells me that she looks to her father and Allen Iverson as sources of inspiration. “Iverson stayed true to what he liked and that’s also a part of my style. I wear whatever it is that I want,” she notes. “So when we talk about the baggy era and how everyone looked on Draft Day or just pre-game walk-ins, that baggy era was one for the books.” For tunnel outfits, you may catch Copper in her favorite Rick Owens sneakers and an eclectic yet minimalistic outfit.
While growing up in Philadelphia Copper details that she was surrounded by people who enjoyed fashion. Her parents were included in this number. “I think growing up my style was matchy-matchy,” she says. She mentions she always wanted her shirt to match her shoes—dressing up and looking good was innate to her, it was the norm where she is from. Attending a prep charter school for her last two years of high school and wearing uniforms are distinct memories for Copper. During this era of her life, she recalls wearing what she says were “play clothes” outside of school. That typically was Wrangler jeans or Levi’s and a T-shirt.
When I ask Kahleah which fashion era she resonates with most, her response is twofold. She mentions the 2000s and the current moments we’re living through. On modern style moments: “I love it because everyone is being themselves and [it’s] also got that edginess,” she says. “Men [are] painting their nails and wearing crop tops. I feel like with style now people are doing whatever they feel fits their personality.”
At the moment, she and her stylist work on her pre-game tunnel outfits together. Kahleah shares that she enjoys supporting brands local to Los Angeles like mnml. She adds that she often chooses to lean into minimalistic design details and distinctive pieces—ahead of one game this season she was spotted wearing a kitschy knitted bag by Hope Macaulay, a knitwear brand based in Northern Ireland. Copper also declares that she never boxes herself in. She enjoys experimenting and trying out what she refers to as baggy silhouettes—she often finds herself drawn to Rick Owens’s designs. Since she’s an Adidas athlete she wears the sportswear brand quite often too. Adidas Sambas are a trusted shoe she feels are worn better when they’re a bit beat up–it gives them a bit of character in her eyes.
“I think my style is an extension of my personality,” Copper mentions. She also expresses that she loves having pieces that no one has. Lately, she’s been enjoying mixing expensive designer items with lower-priced pieces like jackets from Zara for example.
There’s a non-conventional approach to game-day attire that comes out in each ensemble Copper wears. For instance, for a recent game, she donned an unexpected white graphic button-up shirt from sustainable, L.A.-based brand Rhyann & Rhyse. The shirt had a painted caricature of the legendary rapper Tupac Shakur. Oversized, apron-inspired jeans were an eccentric pairing with the top—the denim was by L.A. label No Thompson. This statement provides proof of the uniqueness of Kahleah’s style. Rather than fit in, she’s constantly pushing herself to venture away from normalcy.
Here are 5 summer hot picks from Kahleah Copper.
“As a person who has a million pairs of shoes, there’s nothing like having a pair that you can just wear every day, and these are that pair.”
Available at Rick Owens