Russell Westbrook Collaborates with Acne Studios: An Inside Look

Russell Westbrook—NBA star and now fashion designer—has become known for his confident, eccentric off-court style over the past few years.

Off-duty, Westbrook has shown up to watch games while wearing full denim-on-denim looks, perfectly cut suits paired with graphic crewnecks, and a menagerie of prints (in one particularly memorable ensemble, he combined a vintage Lauryn Hill concert tee with star-spangled silk pants and black converse high tops). His latest foray into the style-verse: a capsule collection with Acne Studios that’s technically menswear but that we will call unisex because, well, we want lots of it. It’s not the first time the brand has worked with Westbrook: The Houston Rockets point guard was the star of their Spring/Summer 2019 campaign, for which Juergen Teller photographed him practicing on an outdoor court.

The capsule collection, which launched today, is a small run of half-zips, cargo utility vests, short-sleeved collared shirts, straight leg jeans and long-inseam shorts. The garments are athletic without screaming “all-things-sports”—we love the half-zips in particular, which have a windbreaker shape that’s softened by the weight of the fabric, spare but well-deployed hardware and a hidden drawstring at the hem. The vests have an endearing “I’m not a regular scientist, I’m a cool scientist” vibe—the kind of clothes that you might wear as a researcher out in the field, if that field were Tompkins Square Park.

Each piece comes in two shades of acid-washed denim: a bleached-out blue and a deep, ultra-saturated teal, which lend themselves equally well to mismatched layering as they do a head-to-toe monochrome situation.

“I have always been interested in the connection between sportswear and ready-to-wear, the dynamic between them especially,” Acne Creative Director Jonny Johansson said in a statement that accompanied the launch of the collaboration. “I’m just happy and blessed to have a collection with them and to be able to show my creative side,” added Westbrook.

The collection is available on Acne’s website as well as highsnobiety.com.