Russell Westbrook has added a new venture to his portfolio.
The NBA player is now an investor in N4XT Experiences. This premier global event experience company has expertise in creative direction, brand strategy, and experiential programming, as well as caters to fashion, beauty, culture, and gaming, per WWD. It acquired LA Fashion Week in 2022 and will now bring a fresh take to New York Fashion Week. There are plans to launch additional activations for designers in each city so they can present in different locations that work for them, according to N4XT Experiences CEO Imad Izemrane.
“In the new digital era where content and the material that you create from your show is essentially your marketing campaign, everybody wants to have their own background, their own look and feel and taste that’s connected to their collection,” Izemrane told WWD.
Westbrook’s alignment with the platform should come as no surprise, as his interest in fashion has been on full display since he was
drafted to the NBA wearing a gray-blue custom suit with a gold tie representing the University of California Los Angeles, Vogue
reports. He also graced the carpet of the Met Gala more than once. Everyone may not understand his sense of style, but he told the outlet, “As long as I feel good about it, I hope it inspires people to wear and be outgoing and outspoken.”
Westbrook has partnered with numerous brands throughout his career, including Barneys New York, Jordan Brand, and True Religion. In 2016, he launched an affordable streetwear label, Honor the Gift. More recently, in June 2025, he partnered to launch a sportswear and denim collection called Westbrook by HTG. His interest is led by his belief that fashion merges community and culture.
Westbrook’s firm stance in fashion resonated with Izemrane and his commitment to giving back. As AFROTECH™ previously told you, Westbrook launched the “Why Not? Foundation to help underserved communities in education, mental health, and career development.
Beyond being named an
investor, Westbrook will also serve as N4XT Experiences’ first resident curator.
“Being named resident curator for N4XT Experiences in both LA and NY is an incredible honor,” Westbrook said. “Fashion has always been a way for me to express myself, but what excites me most is the chance to use this platform to further build community and shape programming by creating space for
creativity, culture, and purpose to collide.”
He continued, “I’ve been in fashion and involved in designing and creating and doing different things for many years now. But I’ve always tried to find ways to kind of make an imprint in fashion in any way that I can. And N4XT has the way to do that. When I invest in something, I want to be involved start to finish, and I’m super excited about this.”
