Meet Sydney Bordonaro, the Super Stylist for the Brightest WNBA Stars.
As the WNBA’s popularity continues to grow, Bordonaro is dressing the likes of Kelsey Plum and Cameron Brink for the show before the show, the pregame tunnel. - MIKE DESTEFANO
It was only two years ago when stylist Sydney Bordonaro recalls brands not even responding to her requests to pull pieces for her WNBA clients.
Fast forward to the present day, women’s basketball is bigger than it's ever been. The WNBA’s rise in popularity, thanks in large part to household names in this year’s rookie class such as Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, is well documented. A total of 16 WNBA games this season have surpassed 1 million viewers each, a league record. Nike is giving the league’s top players signature sneaker deals. This weekend’s WNBA All-Star Game is poised to be the largest in the league’s 27-year history. And like its NBA counterpart, the WNBA’s tunnel is being treated like a nightly fashion show. Now, brands are begging for Bordonaro to dress her clients in their clothing.
“I think people are attached to these players, not just their game,” says Bordonaro. “Cameron Brink, Caitlyn Clark, Angel Reese, Hailey Van Lith, Paige Bueckers, they've all been ‘it’ girls for a while.”
BORDONARO'S FIRST WNBA CLIENT WAS HER CLOSE FRIEND JEWELL LOYD. VIA JOSHUA HUSTON / NBAE VIA GETTY IMAGES
Bordonaro didn’t grow up with dreams of being a stylist, but she did grow up around the game of basketball. Like so many of us, she worshipped Allen Iverson and rocked his jersey in every color as a kid. She played college basketball at Pepperdine University and Long Beach State. Post-grad, her plan to stay in the orbit of the game she loved was to become a sports agent, not help WNBA superstars get dressed. Her path to becoming a go-to stylist for the WNBA was almost accidental. The pandemic derailed an agency job that she had lined up. Her first client wasn’t even a client, but a close friend just asking for some fashion advice. Today, the 27-year old Bordonaro is styling some of the W’s most noteworthy names.
“I have no background in fashion. I never assisted anybody. I had nothing really. It was just learning everything on the fly,” says the LA-based stylist. “It's so crazy because nothing in my life has ever come more natural. This is the only thing I could say so confidently. I've just never felt nervous.”
That friend, and the first player to be styled by Bordonaro, was Seattle Storm guard Jewell Loyd. Loyd, who was a fan of Bordonaro’s personal style, reached out to see if she would be willing to help dress her for a couple games in August 2021. Bordonaro ended up styling 10 outfits throughout that season. Without any connections in the industry, Bordonaro relied on mall stores such as Urban Outfitters and got things from her close friends. Loyd's looks incorporated hoodies from fellow Pittsburgh native John Geiger, peach sweatsuits from Los Angeles-based label Bristol Studio, and hyped colorways of Nike SB Dunks, most notably the “Chunky Dunky.”
“In my head I was just like, ‘I could use the extra bread.’ I had no training being a stylist,” Bordonaro tells Complex. “Every couple months, [Lloyd] would hit me and it was time to go shopping again.”
Her next client was Las Vegas Aces star Kelsey Plum, who Bordonaro says she looked up to during her playing days in high school and college. They were connected in December 2021 by chance when a friend asked Bordonaro if she could drop a hoodie off to Plum at a photoshoot in Los Angeles.
“I was chatting her ear off about basketball. We had mad mutual friends,” says Bordonaro. “I told her I’ve been styling a little bit and she said she needed some help putting fits together for a shoot next week.”
Bordonaro has styled Plum ever since. The looks are diverse. One day it could be a Tupac graphic T-shirt, leather pants, and sneakers. The next could be a custom white suit from luxury women’s label GSTQ. Arguably their most memorable look together came earlier this year when Plum arrived for the Aces 2024 opener in a black cropped leather vest with nothing underneath, and matching leather pants by Alexander Wang. And it almost never happened. The package got stuck in transit, and Bordonaro ended up having to purchase the outfit from the Alexander Wang store in Orange County and drive to Las Vegas on gameday to hand deliver it to Plum.
“Creating moments is important,” says Bordonaro. “I wanted her to feel sexy and confident. Look good, feel good.”
One of the newest high-profile clients that Bordonaro has been working with is Los Angeles Sparks rookie center Cameron Brink. They initially connected in July 2023 during WNBA All-Star Weekend. Bordonaro styled Brink in a pink plaid mini skirt, matching knee-high boots, a white tank top, and pink shades to sit courtside at the game. Ahead of the 2024 WNBA season, Brink reached out to see if Bordonaro could style her for the entire year. Some of her most notable looks have included pieces from Sami Miro and Martine Rose. But Bordonaro acknowledges that Brink makes her job easy.
“You could put her in literally everything,” says Bordonaro.
BORDONARO HAS BEEN STYLING BRINK THROUGHOUT THE 2024 WNBA SEASON. VIA JUAN OCAMPO / NBAE VIA GETTY IMAGES
Overall, Bordonaro currently styles five players: Plum, Brink, Chelsea Gray, Rae Burrell, and Marina Mabrey. The looks run the gamut from feminine skirts and heels to streetwear-focused ensembles that incorporate football jerseys and custom pants made of braided cords. Each is tailored to the personality of the particular player. Bordonaro says the increased interest in the WNBA has been beneficial.
“Now that there's more attention, it's become so much easier,” says Bordonaro. “Big designer brands that I could have only dreamed of being able to pull from two years ago are reaching out to us. It’s a complete 180.”
These designer labels are seeing the potential of the WNBA tunnel and its players as an important marketing tool. It’s a similar trajectory to the evolution that the NBA tunnel went through over the past decade.
“These girls are fly as hell. They're beautiful. I think these brands would be dumb not to want to be involved,” says Bordonaro. “The WNBA is definitely having its moment. The league is 27 years old. I've never seen it like this before.”
While she doesn’t have any plans to stop styling, Bordonaro is already leveraging her new notoriety to kickstart other opportunities. She wants to open up an agency/boutique in her home city of Pittsburgh. Clients will not only be able to tap her for styling, but she also envisions the space as a retail shop selling pieces from up-and-coming brands she is a fan of, Belacartes and GV Gallery being high on the list.
“At the end of the day, I can't style everybody, so it's how I can continue my reach and do my thing,” says Bordonaro. “It’s just continuing to build relationships and creating more opportunities for my players and myself.”
