Champion. Philanthropist. Big scarf sensation. Taste-maker to the stars. Serge Ibaka, pro NBA basketball player, is all this and more. Now we can add apparel Designer to the multi-talented Congolese forward’s list, thanks to his capsule collaboration with Toronto-based Nobis.
While Serge may have moved his basketball address from the Toronto Raptors to old pal Kawhi Leonard’s Los Angeles Clippers, his Queen City connection remains strong with Nobis’ involvement in the collection, dubbed Nobis X SERGE IBAKA. It’s Serge’s first foray into the design world, and for Nobis, a first collaboration with the man they named global ambassador in 2019.
Nobis has shattered expectations with the avant-garde capsule. Senior Design Director Michael Kerr worked directly with Serge, the pair striving for what Kerr calls ‘functional beauty’. The result is a combination of Nobis’ premium apparel traits, adaptive layering, and hues from Ibaka’s personal wardrobe.
The line brings the same multi-faceted versatility the player shows on court. Everything is ‘genderless’, made to shine on men and women alike. Bright highlights accent subtle base tones, speaking as much to functional visibility as to fashion. Each item can be worn together in nearly countless combinations or alone as a standout piece. A reversible bucket hat with an interlocking ‘SI’ logo on one side and ‘Mafuzzy’, Serge’s trademark saying on the other, increase styling possibilities. You can even wash everything at home. And there are scarves—large scarves.
Ibaka himself views wearing clothes more as an art form, or rather the ‘art of dressing’. His playful scarf ‘feud’ with young Raptor star OG Anunoby, his offbeat and (very) adventurous cooking show featuring teammates like Pascal Siakam, his style tips for Fred VanVleet and other Raptors, and his Paris Fashion Week presence with then-teammate Russell Westbrook—all of it speaks to a deeper understanding of international taste, flavour, personal appearance, and how clothes look and can make us feel.
Michael Kerr has helped bring those qualities to life in the Nobis X SERGE IBAKA capsule, working with Serge. The exciting new apparel speaks to a global, forward-thinking audience that seeks the functional beauty the capsule achieves. And, of course, it helps everyone turn their daily ritual of dressing into an art.
The Nobis X SERGE IBAKA capsule is available now on altitude-sports.com. And read about some of our Canadian winter coat brands—including, of course, Nobis.
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