For the first three years of Monique Billings’ WNBA career, walking onto the basketball court in sweatpants was the norm. But going into her eighth season and being drafted as a forward for the Golden State Valkyries earlier this year, Billings has gone full fashion mode in showcasing her personal style and personality through her looks.
As first reported by WWD, Rakuten announced its partnership with the WNBA team as a founder partner and the official shopping rewards partner of the Valkyries.
Billings has been tapped alongside teammates Kate Martin and Tiffany Hayes to be part of its newest “Shop the Look” program in partnership with Saks Fifth Avenue in which fans can purchase looks they see on players from the Rakuten Arrivals home game tunnel walk — a cultural phenomenon that has exploded across the WNBA and NBA — and earn cash back directly on Rakuten’s website.
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Jess Smith, president of Golden State Valkyries, said about the team’s partnership with Rakuten, “Our players bring so much personality and style to the game, and now fans will get to experience that up close through ‘Rakuten Arrivals.’ This partnership celebrates what makes the WNBA special — incredible athletes who bring their authentic selves both on and off the court.”
For the partnership, Billings has arrived at games wearing brands such as Retrofête, Ray Ban, Good American, Michael Kors, Apparis and more. One brand she’s said she’s continually eyeing is Andrea Iyamah — “I have a couple of her pieces. But if I was ever able to work with her on a custom piece, that would be amazing.”
She shared that her personal style is eclectic — she loves frequenting thrift stores to find cool pieces and mix them with designer bags or select upscale pieces to merge the aesthetics together. Billings has also been a partner of Athleta for two years.
“It’s so cool being able to show my personality through fashion,” Billings told WWD. “When people see me on the court, they see me in a jersey — and my personality is totally different. I’m super bubbly, kind, positive and sweet. But on the court, I’m fierce and it’s a different energy. Being able to wear a really cute outfit and show my personality side, I think that it’s a way that I can connect with fans. The fans can recreate these looks — either take the look and wear it exactly as it is or spice it up and put their own style on it.”
Billings said that each game she comes up with a different style concept that allows fans to engage with them through shopping the players’ arrival looks — “adding a new type of interaction between us and our fans.” She said the partnership gives fans the accessibility and opportunity to wear looks the three players selected and to connect with their fans beyond just being “players, on the court but connecting with [them] off the court, too.”
“As a women’s professional athlete, I always wanted to show that you could be feminine and you can be soft and beautiful. And on the court you could be fierce and dominant — you don’t have to choose between the two. When I was a young girl, I would go to Sparks games. I was a fan of these women on the court, but my muse and idol was Tyra Banks. I wanted to be on ‘America’s Next Top Model‘! To walk in the tunnel and wear a really cute outfit before going to work on the court is the best of both worlds for me. My younger self is so happy and smiling on the inside because I can be both things that I’m really passionate about.”
As the WNBA continues to grow in its reach, big-name brand partnerships and strategic alignment have increasingly brought more people in to become mega fans.
“This is the moment, and brands like Rakuten are realizing and capitalizing on it. They’re investing in us as players. This is my eighth season, […] there were no cameras and this was not a thing. The fact that we’re in a different place now with the intersection of sports, fashion and culture. And for us as players, brands are bringing in more opportunities for us to capitalize on these moments. I love seeing brands invest in women and the time is now,” concluded Billings.
