Growing up, Esther Wallace, founder of Playa Society, took the title of the tallest girl among her peers. Naturally, winning the genetic lottery in stature brought about suggestions of becoming a basketball player, but Wallace had other aspirations in mind. “I always saw myself as an artist and wanted to go to fashion design school, I just didn't have that exposure to build the interest,” she tells xoNecole.
As early as elementary school, Wallace was pulled toward fashion and design, with her sketchbooks in hand at all times. Drawing influence from hip-hop culture and iconic figures like Missy Elliott and red-carpet events, it wasn’t long before Wallace would find a way to merge her natural gifts as an artist and athlete and bring the two worlds together.
“Since I was so fixated on design and fashion, I just remember the differences in ordering our team gear for the year; the men’s catalog always had better stuff,” she recalls. “And that's what I started to take that exploration and be more exposed to the idea of how to solve some of these discrepancies.”
Women's sports face many inequalities, from unequal media coverage, to lower pay and fewer opportunities for women in leadership roles. For Wallace, this fact, coupled with her personal experiences as an athlete has since inspired her to design a t-shirt with a stylist statement.
Photo Credit: Sassa S
Her “Female Athlete” t-shirt made waves after dropping in 2017. The tee, which features the word "female” crossed out and the phrase "teammates not by gender" became an instant hero product of the brand. “I remember designing it and it just felt like a statement that needed to be said,” she tells xoNecole. “It was more so just creating a conversation and starting a movement around the concept of equality for women in sports and from there, I was able to build the brand around it.”
The world of sports, fashion, and culture has always formed a harmonious relationship. With tunnel walks being an opportunity for players to showcase their personal style, sports figures taking up social causes, and sports marketing being a form of storytelling, Wallace understands the power of using clothes to make a statement.
“It's definitely about using apparel or design as a platform for storytelling,” she says. “I always want to try and captivate as much of that energy throughout the women's basketball community as possible and pour it into the design process.”
"I always want to try and captivate as much of that energy throughout the women's basketball community as possible and pour it into the design process."
Esther Wallace, Playa Society CEO + Designer
Photo Credit: Briele Chanel
As a brand, Playa Society focuses on celebrating and highlighting major moments within women’s basketball, from rising players to WNBA legends, and momentous championships, to uplift and honor the community. “There's always so many layers to the design process, between the message and the design. So I’m continuing to dig through those layers and find ways to piece it all together so that it's always putting the women of the league at the forefront.”
Esther Wallace, Playa Society CEO + Designer
Photo Credit: Briele Chanel
Today, the WNBA has entered a new era, with standout players like A'ja Wilson, Angel Reese, Skylar Diggins, Alyssa Thomas, and more bringing record-breaking viewership to the game along with soldout arenas. Amidst the controversy and spectacle, this momentum has brought well-deserved attention to the sport that Wallace says is “overdue."
“I think that there are a lot of untold stories just amongst the women in the league,” she says, “I don’t think people realized how exciting, skilled, and talented these players are. I'm excited that a lot of these players are getting so much more well-deserved exposure because I do believe that once the culture starts to embrace these athletes, that's how the game and the league are going to thrive. It's a really exciting time.”
"I'm excited that a lot of these players are getting so much more well-deserved exposure because I do believe that once the culture starts to embrace these athletes, that's how the game and the league are going to thrive."
Photo Credit: Sassa S
Any athlete will tell you that having a player’s mindset is essential to success both on and off the court. For Wallace, incorporating her on-court intentions into her entrepreneurial endeavors has been the secret sauce to her success. “Everything that I do and how I navigate always goes back to basketball. I'm always operating under that pressure — basketball has taught me about being poise and prepared,” she says. “What tends to hold people back is second-guessing and self-doubt, but cut through all of that noise. It's a constant game of continuing the path and trusting your instincts because none of this happens overnight.”
The great women’s basketball renaissance is here and with advocates like Wallace championing the sport, it isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
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Featured image by Sassa S
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While an evolution is a natural progression that happens as businesses grow, a rebrand is a total change. Lola tells xoNecole, "A total rebrand is necessary when a business’s current reputation/what it’s known for is at odds with the business’s vision or direction.
"For example, if you’ve fundamentally changed what your product is and does, it’s likely that your brand is out of alignment with the business. Or, if you find your company is developing a reputation that doesn’t serve it, it might be time to pump the brakes and figure out what needs to change.
She continues, "Sometimes you’ll see companies (especially startups) announce a name change that comes with updated messaging, visuals, etc. That usually means their vision has changed or expanded, and their previous branding was too narrow/couldn’t encompass everything they planned to do."
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The Brand Doula was born in 2019, and its focus is on putting "the experiences, goals, and needs of women of color founders first," as well as brands with "culture-shifting missions."
According to Lola, culture-shifting is "the act of influencing dominant behavior, beliefs, or experiences in a community or group (ideally, for the better)."
"At The Brand Doula, we work with companies and leaders that set out to challenge the status quo in their industries and communities. They’re here to make an impact that sends ripples across the market," she says.
"We help the problem solvers of the world — the ones who aren't satisfied with 'this is how it's always been' and instead ask 'how could this be better?' Our clients build for impact, reimagining tools, systems, and ways of living to move cultures forward."
The Brand Doula has worked with many brands, including Too Collective, to assist with their collaboration with Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty and Balanced Black Girl for a "refresh," aka rebrand. For businesses looking to rebrand, Lola shares four essential steps.
1. Do an audit of your current brand experience — what’s still relevant and what needs to change? Reflect on why you’re doing the rebrand in the first place and what success would look like after relaunching.
2. Tackle the overall strategy first — before you start redesigning logos and websites, align on a new vision for your brand. How do you want your company to be positioned moving forward? Has your audience changed at all? Will your company have a fresh personality and voice?
3. Bring your audience along the journey — there’s no need to move in secret. Inviting your current audience into the journey can actually help them feel more connected to and invested in your story, enough to stick around as changes are being made.
4. Keep business moving — one of my biggest pet peeves is when companies take down their websites as soon as they have the idea to rebrand, then have a Coming Soon page up for months! You lose a lot of momentum and interest by doing that. If you’re still in business and generating income, continue to operate while you work on your rebrand behind the scenes. You don’t want to cut existing customers off out of the blue, and you also don’t want so much downtime that folks forget your business exists or start looking for other solutions.
While determining whether the rebrand was successful may take a few months, Lola says a clear sign that it is unsuccessful is negative feedback from your target audience. "Customers are typically more vocal about what they don’t like more than what they do like," she says.
But some good signs to look out for are improvements in engagement with your marketing, positive reviews, press and increase in retention, and overall feeling aligned with the new branding.
For more information about Lola and The Brand Doula, visit her website, thebranddoula.com.
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