Duke’s fashionista forward designs coach’s gameday outfit

FILE: Erin Mathias (Photo by Erin Mathias/Twitter)

DURHAM, N.C. — Duke women’s basketball player Erin Mathias is turning the sideline into a runway — and her coach is the model.

The starting forward for the 17th-ranked Blue Devils — and budding fashion designer — is creating the outfit coach Joanne P. McCallie will wear during Monday night’s game against No. 12 Florida State.

It’s the latest foray into fashion for the visual arts and media studies major who spent a summer interning with a New York-based designer, created her own clothing line (Erin Mathias Designs) and last fall staged a fashion show in Durham with her teammates modeling her creations.

“Growing up, I was sort of handed a basketball in one hand, and in the other hand, just sort of handed creativity in general,” Mathias said. “My mom was very interested in fashion, so athletics and fashion became two major parts of my life.”

Details are scarce on what exactly the final version of McCallie’s outfit will look like. The coach was still being fitted for it midway through this week, with Mathias saying “I think it’s kind of going to be a reveal, I guess. As soon as we see Coach P, there it is.”

Mathias says she began sketching out a handful of ideas earlier this month, and the design will be functional and true to McCallie’s high-intensity character. And at least part of it will be pink, because this is the Blue Devils’ “Play 4 Kay” game to honour N.C. State Hall of Fame coach Kay Yow by raising money for the cancer fund that bears her name. The plan is to auction the outfit for charity at some point after the game.

“I had a general idea in my head of what I wanted to do, and sort of wanted to stick to my esthetic but also incorporate aspects of Coach P into it, trying to incorporate pink into it as well,” Mathias said. “So I’ve played around with a few different things, ordered my fabric, got my fabric in, got my patterns made, just kind of laid my patterns out and my fabric and kind of started constructing it from there.”

Unlike coaches of other sports, basketball coaches in both genders have a unique relationship with style — with extremes ranging from John Calipari’s designer suits to Bob Huggins’ trademark windbreaker — and McCallie says she is excited to wear whatever Mathias sews together with pride.

“I’ve watched Erin and her fashion show and her taste, but either way, it wouldn’t matter. It’s just the idea that she’s making this, and I don’t know how many coaches across the country could ever say her student-athlete made her an outfit for such a game like ‘Play 4 Kay,”’ McCallie said. “I just think Kay would get a big kick out of this.”

Mathias’ interest in fashion took off after she bought a sewing machine on a whim, upon receiving a handmade denim jacket. She spent the summer of 2016 as an intern with designer Charles Harbison and came up with the plan for the fashion show the following summer.

“Erin just has amazing taste,” said Harbison, a Lincolnton native and North Carolina State graduate who also has a connection to sports. He’s the son of Charlie Harbison — a well-travelled football assistant recently hired by the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals to coach defensive backs.

“It’s exciting to see a woman who has a foothold in athleticism and rigour also have the ability to understand proportion and balance and have a really elegant approach to design,” Harbison added. “I think that sets her apart.”

Duke spokesman Lindy Brown says the NCAA approved the show and fashion line because her clothes are not for sale.

Mathias described her style as “taking industrial aspects” such as chains, bolts and bottle caps “and incorporating them into my clothes, just collaborating the hard and the soft,” influenced by both Durham and her hometown of Pittsburgh.

Mathias has kept an eye on the latest trends and developments while also focusing on basketball and helping Duke try to finish the regular season strong.

“I’m really in the zone right now,” Mathias said. “It really makes me want to be (at Fashion Week). So hopefully someday, if I continue working hard, maybe that’s down the road.”