It was a horribly-kept secret that when Nike opened the House of Rise in Manila, it was inaugurated by none other than Indiana Pacer Paul George, who introduced and inspired the 24 participating players in Nike’s first ever reality documentary and basketball development program, Rise.
It was during this rare and momentous occasion that CLAVEL cornered the NBA superstar during the Nike Sportswear Sessions to ask him a few questions about his very singular off-court style. Not one to shy away from exploring his personal style, Paul George experiments in plains and prints, sometimes flashy and sometimes laid-back…
But no matter the occasion or the outfit, if there’s one thing PG13 swears by, it’s color.
More particularly, colorways.
How do you usually dress when you’re off-court?
I like everything to be fitted. I’m a skinny, slim guy so I like to appear much bigger than I actually am so I definitely like the Euro slim cut. You know one of my favorite outfits off the court is probably the Nike Fleece sweat suits. I wear that maybe 70– 80 percent [of the time]. If I’m not dressing up, I’m in tech outfits. I like everything to be snug. I get to the arena pretty early so it’s about being comfortable, and I feel confident in it. I feel like I’m getting ready to go to battle, I feel like I can move easily, and again it’s cold so I wanna stay warm. That’s what I love about the Fleece.
How do you choose what to wear?
It’s always based on the game. If it’s a TNT game, I’m dressed to impressed. If I got a big night, I usually pack my Nike Fleece outfit with me. If I had a bad game, I’m in my sweats. I just wanna get straight home, straight to bed.
How important is off-court style for every player, dressing up really sharp and dapper before and after games?
I think it’s real important. I think that’s a platform for us to show our personality and just have fun with it. I love guys going beyond [the usual] to show their personality and their fun side.
Who’s your favorite best dressed NBA player, besides yourself?
I love Swaggy P… D. [Dwyane] Wade is another well-dressed player in our league. I think those two would be my top favorites.
If you could get anyone to style you for the rest of your life, who would you trust with your wardrobe?
I think D. Wade. D. Wade is really into fashion and knows his fashion. I think he would be a good guy to have in my corner as a stylist.
What’s one thing every guy needs to have in his wardrobe?
I think you gotta have a nice pair of shades. I think every man has to have a nice pair of shades that’s a part of their wardrobe. For some event, you gotta have a nice pair of shades on.
When you go out, do you start with your clothes or your shoes first?
Always the sneakers. I go from toe to head. (laughs) Just because I think the shoes make the outfit. You can wear pretty much anything but if the shoes are not coordinated with that outfit, it kinda kills it. Even if you don’t match ’em, it’s the colors and the shoes, the sneaker, that is gonna bring that outfit together. When I’m getting dressed, I’m definitely lining my shoes up first and then the accessories that go with it.
Speaking of sneakers, you’ve always been interested in them, even as a kid. How big is your collection now?
Yeah, I’ve got…from Air Maxes to the Pennys to Jordans… I collect almost any and every shoe just because I love colors, I love the stories that some shoes tell, and then like the Pennys they come in so many colorways, sometimes I just line ’em all up and just look at all the different colorways they came up with. It’s a joy to me. I get a rush out of it ‘coz growing up, I wasn’t fortunate to have tennis shoes. You get two, three tennis shoes a year, to where now I’m fortunate to buy the shoes that I wanna wear. It’s a huge collection that I have, I have about two to three hundred shoes, that I keep. I mean, I gave away so many. My number will probably be, through the roof. (laughs) I’ve got a good two to three hundred that never leave my side.
That’s a lot for a rotation. Are there any pairs you don’t get to wear at all?
You know the secret, you gotta buy two. (laughs) One to stock, one to rock. At some point I will wear all the sneakers unless I only get one pair then they’re just for show, in a show room.
Name your favorites.
I love the [Jordan] 6s, as far as Jordans.. Again, I love all the Pennys. I think those [Gone Fishin’ Foamposites] that my brother has on. I love the Galaxy [Foamposites] when those came out. The Huaraches I was [a] big fan of. I think now, my favorite shoe is the Janoskis. Being a West Coast guy, you know, we’re used to being laid back and having sneakers that you can pretty much wear with anything. So right now I think the Janoskis are probably my favorite shoes.
What one pair of Nike sneakers are you excited to see make a comeback?
I think the Prestos. I think people forgot about those.
If we were to set you loose in a sneaker store, what would be the first thing that’ll attract you to buy a certain pair?
It would definitely have to be the colors. I love bright colors in shoes, I think they really just pop out and really stand out in sneakers. So for sneakers to [be able to] mix colors and blend them well, I think that’s what makes the shoe. I think the sales in black and white shoes will be a lot less opposed to it being in the orange and baby blue [colorways]. So I think that’s what really makes the shoe, and generates the sales in shoes, is colorways.
Before you signed with Nike, what’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done to get a pair of sneakers?
Aww, man…(laughs) I used to write letters on my dad’s dresser, and then I would clip out [from] Eastbay [catalog], just throwing little subliminal hints like, “Hey, dad. These are coming out this week…” Sometimes they worked, sometimes they didn’t. (laughs)
Catch #Rise on TV5, every Sunday. For behind-the-scenes and additional training content, go to Nike.com. Keep track of online content through #Rise.
Article by @angelathejedi
Photos by Franco Borromeo (@pxnch)
