Pretty much everything Kobe Bryant did made news. He was more than one of the greatest basketball players of all time. He was a pop culture icon. People who have never watched a day of basketball in their lives know about ‘Mamba mentality,’ which only speaks to the influence he had on culture. Moreover, despite how extensive pop culture is, David Beckham’s style, Michael Jordan’s shoes, The Rock’s eyebrow, and Kobe Bryant’s iconic 2001 NBA championship jacket remain incomparable.
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In Bryant’s case, a picture os him holding the championship trophy in the locker room, wearing his jacket, that has since become so iconic that many artists have worn or recreated over the years, remains at the top of the list. It is often speculated that Kobe looked sad in that photo due to falling out with his parents over his marriage to Vanessa. His parents had apparently declined an invitation to their wedding.
Regardless, Kobe’s custom jacket was built specifically for Kobe by designer Jeff Hamilton to commemorate the Lakers‘ championship win. Earlier this week, Hamilton appeared on The Personal show, where he talked about Kobe’s impact, that iconic jacket, and everything in between.
Speaking to the time Kobe passed away, Hamilton said, “January 26. Then suddenly we are all devastated because he just meant so much to us, especially … I am not going to say especially because he hit everybody across the world, whether they knew him personally or didn’t know him, it hit all of us in a very, very strong way.”
That said, he does feel that Kobe sort of blessed him at that moment because the whole world at that point in time realized that they connected him with that jacket, that moment.
“That sad moment when he was in the shower, and we all know, or we might not know, why the moment, why he was sad at that moment,” he added.
“He was in Philly. He won a championship. He grew up as a Philly fan and his dad played for the Sixers and people were booing him the whole night. And then he had a falling out with his parents as well … He needed that moment to meditate and have that alone moment. And that’s why he was sad. He was really in a trance when it happened,” Hamilton noted.
The leather artist asserted that despite the gravity of the occasion and how complicated things were, “the picture became the most iconic picture and that jacket became the most famous piece of fashion in sports history.”
As the news of his death broke, Hamilton was swarmed with requests for that jacket, with people demanding different variations of it. Unfortunately, for the fans, Hamilton had the same answer, “I cannot make those jackets. I don’t have a license with the NBA.”
People began offering him 2-3 times the money he was selling it for back in the day, so he called the NBA, and the league just allowed him to go ahead with it. And from the looks of it, it worked out really well for him!
