• Celebrity
    • 2024 Sexiest Men Of the Moment
    • Of The Essence
    • Celebrity News
    • If Not For My Girls
    • The State Of R&B
    • Time Of Essence
  • Fashion
    • 2024 ESSENCE FASHION HOUSE
    • SSENSE X ESSENCE
    • 2023 Best In Black Fashion Awards
    • Red Carpet
    • Fashion News
    • Accessories
  • Beauty
    • 2024 Best In Beauty Awards
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Hair
  • Lifestyle
    • 2024 Travel Awards
    • Love
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
    • Bridal Bliss
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
  • Entrepreneurship
    • 2024 Power 40
    • Money & Career
    • SOKO MRKT
  • News
    • 2024 HBCU X ESSENCE
    • Latest News
    • Black Futures
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Shopping
    • 2024 Holiday Gift Guide
  • Video
  • Events
    • 2024 ESSENCE Fashion House
    • 2024 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2024 ESSENCE Hollywood House
    • 2024 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2024 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2023 Wellness House
    • 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
  • Studios
  • Essence GU
  • Beautycon
  • NaturallyCurly
  • Afropunk
  • Soko Mrkt
  • Ese Funds
SUBSCRIBE
  • MAGAZINE
  • NEWSLETTER

WHERE BLACK CULTURE, COMMUNITY AND CONSCIOUSNESS MEET

Sign up for ESSENCE Newsletters the keep the Black women at the forefront of conversation.

Your email is required.
Your email is in invalid format.
Confirm email is required.
Email did not match.
Select the newsletters you'd like to receive:
Please select at least one option.
Essence

Thank you for subscribing. Unlock VIP access! Join our SMS list for exclusive offers you won’t find anywhere else.

Your phone number is required
Please enter a new one and try again.
Invalid phone number
Please enter a new one and try again.
Skip to content
  • Essence GU
  • Beautycon
  • NaturallyCurly
  • Afropunk
  • Soko Mrkt
  • Ese Funds
SUBSCRIBE
  • MAGAZINE
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Celebrity
    • 2024 Sexiest Men Of the Moment
    • Of The Essence
    • Celebrity News
    • If Not For My Girls
    • The State Of R&B
    • Time Of Essence
  • Fashion
    • 2024 ESSENCE FASHION HOUSE
    • SSENSE X ESSENCE
    • 2023 Best In Black Fashion Awards
    • Red Carpet
    • Fashion News
    • Accessories
  • Beauty
    • 2024 Best In Beauty Awards
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Hair
      • Hair News
      • Natural
      • Relaxed
      • Transitioning
      • Weave
      • 4C
  • Lifestyle
    • 2024 Travel Awards
    • Love
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
    • Bridal Bliss
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
  • Entrepreneurship
    • 2024 Power 40
    • Money & Career
    • SOKO MRKT
  • News
    • 2024 HBCU X ESSENCE
    • Latest News
    • Black Futures
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Shopping
    • 2024 Holiday Gift Guide
  • Video
  • Events
    • 2024 ESSENCE Fashion House
    • 2024 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2024 ESSENCE Hollywood House
    • 2024 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2024 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2023 Wellness House
    • 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
  • Studios
Home • Fashion

5 Summer Must-Haves Straight From Kahleah Copper’s Closet

The Phoenix Mercury guard shares what she’s been picking up recently including pieces by Rick Owens.
Kahleah Copper's Trendy Summer Must-Haves
WME/Phoenix Suns
By Robyn Mowatt · Updated August 1, 2024

Hot Picks is a column in which fashion insiders reveal their latest obsessions–sharing their recent purchases and must-have pieces.

Kahleah Copper, originally from North Philadelphia says Teyana Taylor is one of her style icons. The WNBA player expresses that Taylor’s versatility is admirable. She enjoys how the singer and songwriter toys the line between masculine and feminine styles. In her eyes, she says this is her modus operandi when getting dressed. In addition to this ideal, she tells me that she looks to her father and Allen Iverson as sources of inspiration. “Iverson stayed true to what he liked and that’s also a part of my style. I wear whatever it is that I want,” she notes. “So when we talk about the baggy era and how everyone looked on Draft Day or just pre-game walk-ins, that baggy era was one for the books.” For tunnel outfits, you may catch Copper in her favorite Rick Owens sneakers and an eclectic yet minimalistic outfit. 

While growing up in Philadelphia Copper details that she was surrounded by people who enjoyed fashion. Her parents were included in this number. “I think growing up my style was matchy-matchy,” she says. She mentions she always wanted her shirt to match her shoes—dressing up and looking good was innate to her, it was the norm where she is from. Attending a prep charter school for her last two years of high school and wearing uniforms are distinct memories for Copper. During this era of her life, she recalls wearing what she says were “play clothes” outside of school. That typically was Wrangler jeans or Levi’s and a T-shirt. 

When I ask Kahleah which fashion era she resonates with most, her response is twofold. She mentions the 2000s and the current moments we’re living through. On modern style moments: “I love it because everyone is being themselves and [it’s] also got that edginess,” she says. “Men [are] painting their nails and wearing crop tops. I feel like with style now people are doing whatever they feel fits their personality.”

At the moment, she and her stylist work on her pre-game tunnel outfits together. Kahleah shares that she enjoys supporting brands local to Los Angeles like mnml. She adds that she often chooses to lean into minimalistic design details and distinctive pieces—ahead of one game this season she was spotted wearing a kitschy knitted bag by Hope Macaulay, a knitwear brand based in Northern Ireland. Copper also declares that she never boxes herself in. She enjoys experimenting and trying out what she refers to as baggy silhouettes—she often finds herself drawn to Rick Owens’s designs. Since she’s an Adidas athlete she wears the sportswear brand quite often too. Adidas Sambas are a trusted shoe she feels are worn better when they’re a bit beat up–it gives them a bit of character in her eyes. 

“I think my style is an extension of my personality,” Copper mentions. She also expresses that she loves having pieces that no one has. Lately, she’s been enjoying mixing expensive designer items with lower-priced pieces like jackets from Zara for example.  

There’s a non-conventional approach to game-day attire that comes out in each ensemble Copper wears. For instance, for a recent game, she donned an unexpected white graphic button-up shirt from sustainable, L.A.-based brand Rhyann & Rhyse. The shirt had a painted caricature of the legendary rapper Tupac Shakur. Oversized, apron-inspired jeans were an eccentric pairing with the top—the denim was by L.A. label No Thompson. This statement provides proof of the uniqueness of Kahleah’s style. Rather than fit in, she’s constantly pushing herself to venture away from normalcy. 

Here are 5 summer hot picks from Kahleah Copper. 

01
01 Zara Leather Jacket

“Everybody needs a great leather jacket. It’s a staple that I have to have, and I’ve been loving this one recently.”

Available at Zara
79 Shop Now
02
02 Adidas Samba

“You really can’t go wrong with Sambas. You can dress them up, wear them casually; they’re always a versatile option.”

Available at Adidas
90 Shop Now
03
03 Amiri Skeleton High Top Sneaker

“I love adding a splash of color into my ‘fits, and these allow me to do that while still looking great with everything, even other colors.”

Available at Nordstrom
670 Shop Now
04
04 Rick Owens Drop-Crotch Cargo Shorts

“I love these because they put a different kind of style into any outfit. You can wear them when you’re having a lazy day but still want to look cute, you can dress them up. They really go with everything.”

Available at Farfetch
574 Shop Now
05
05 Rick Owens Porterville Sneaker

“As a person who has a million pairs of shoes, there’s nothing like having a pair that you can just wear every day, and these are that pair.”

Available at Rick Owens
1,105 Shop Now

TOPICS:  personal style wnba
We independently evaluate all recommended products and services. If you click on the links we provide, we may receive compensation.
COMPANY INFORMATION
  • Our Company
  • Customer Service
  • Essence Ventures
  • Change Your Address
  • Contact Us
  • Job Opportunities
  • Internships
  • Media Kit
  • tag
SUBSCRIBE
  • Newsletters
  • Give a Gift of ESSENCE
  • Print & Digital App
FOLLOW US
MORE ON ESSENCE
  • Home
  • Love
  • Celebrity
  • Beauty
  • Hair
  • Fashion
  • ESSENCE festival

ESSENCE.com is part of ESSENCE Communications, Inc.

Essence may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.

©2024 ESSENCE Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Essence.com Advertising Terms

Get The ESSENCE Newsletter and
Special Offers delivered to your inbox

By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Get The ESSENCE Magazine
by subscribing below
subscribe now