‘It’s Ellie’s Uniform, but It’s a Dress.’ And Starting Sunday, New York Liberty Fans Will Be Able to Own It.

What’s the origin story of the Herzey and Rare Breed BX? 
Growing up, a jersey dress was something that kind of existed, but not really. You saw people trying to turn a dress into a jersey, or a jersey into a dress, but I felt like nobody really captured what it could really be. So I wanted to perfect it and create something that was 100 percent jersey and 100 percent dress. I didn’t have a background in design—I actually majored in religion in college. After I graduated, I started a marketing company that ended up leading me into advertising, which I did for six years. But in 2020, my main client was CVS Health. As you can imagine, working for CVS Health in 2020 was not the best place to be. So I was like, “Ok, I need to get my own thing up and running.”  

The concept for Rare Breed BX came out of that. We put out our first jersey in November 2020. About two years in, I realized that most of our clients were women. So then it was like, “How do we authentically cater to women without making everything pink and glittery?” One of the things I realized is that when I saw women wearing jerseys, they’d take the bottom and tie it up or tuck it in. Clearly, there was just too much fabric, so I wanted to make it a bit more form-fitting. And the rest is history. 

What is your creative process like? 
Because the Herzey isn’t too different from a basketball jersey, there isn’t too much sketching that needs to be done. It’s more about figuring out the silhouette and how to tailor it to the female shape. It’s a little trial and error to find the right fit. And the product itself is something that’s fully customizable, so we can tailor it to whatever size measurements we need to. 

Did you coin the term “Herzey?” Is that all you? 
Yes. It kind of felt like low-hanging fruit. It was right there. Nobody else had used it. I was like, “It can’t be this easy.” 

That’s amazing. And then, how did you begin working with the Liberty? 
About two seasons ago, I connected with Criscia Long through Instagram, and we got on a call. The idea was to put Ellie in a Herzey. I knew it was going to be a challenge, but it was fun. In order to fit her for the Herzey, we started out with our regular sizes to see where we needed to adjust. She ended up fitting one of our sizes, and we added a couple of inches to the bottom. And then the biggest question was, “Where’s the tail hole gonna go?” Once we figured that out, she was good to go.  

Ellie has really become a celebrity in her own right. The New York Times named her one of the most stylish people of 2024. What do you think sets her apart from other mascots? Why do people love her so much? 
It’s definitely her personality. For somebody who doesn't speak, she says a lot. That in itself is a talent. But I also think the team around Ellie is amazing. They’re super creative and continue to push the envelope. I mean, she was Nicki Minaj, or “Ellie Minaj,” the other week. They have really great ideas, and I’ve been really blessed to be a part of this journey. 

Ellie’s Herzey will officially be made available for purchase at Barclays Center on June 1. How does it feel to be a native New Yorker with your designs sold at Barclays? 
It’s crazy. The Liberty was my first sporting event ever as a kid. I went to the inaugural season. My second-grade teacher took me to a game in 1997, and now it’s 20-something years later. Working with Ellie and the Liberty has been amazing, but to actually see the Herzey in stores—I’m trying to visualize it and grasp it. It’s not gonna really hit me until I see it on the shelves. But even bigger than that, it's gonna be crazy to see other people walking around in it. Being from the Bronx, it’s crazy to have something that I created in my bedroom be sold at Barclays Center. It’s a huge feat. 

Since you’ve been a fan of the Liberty for so long, how does it feel to see the WNBA grow? 
The game has always been good, right? You go back to ’97 and you had Teresa Weatherspoon, Cynthia Cooper, Sheryl Swoopes, and Lisa Leslie. And now there’s Sabrina Ionescu and Caitlin Clark. So it’s always been good, but it’s now cool to see more fans. You see more Liberty jackets and sea foam around the city. You can have more conversations about women’s ball now than you could have had 10 years ago. And I think the style of play has continued to evolve, just like with any sport. Players have come in and really innovated and shaped the game—Sabrina, with the 3, and then Caitlin came in and went crazy. That’s been really dope. We’re probably getting to a point where we’ll see a woman dunk soon. And it was amazing to see them win last year and then go to the parade.  

Will you be there on Sunday to see the official Herzey launch? 
Oh, absolutely. I’ll be the first person in there. To be a New York-born designer who took something from an idea, to the court with Ellie, and to now be able to offer it to the world is really cool. And it’s a big deal. People have been asking for this Herzey for a while. Everybody has wanted that dress, so it'll be cool for people to finally get what they’ve been asking for and for us to be able to bring it to them. I'm excited for that, and I’m excited to see it in the stores on Sunday.