Hockey’s Just The Icing On The Cake For This Fashion Star

…Is coming sooner than we think. The Met Gala theme of “Costume Art” has been announced. A’ja Wilson will be on the host committee (more on that below), and Venus Williams, Nicole Kidman, and Beyoncé will be there or be chair (co-chairs, that is).

Despite my advice to stop having takes on Shedeur Sanders, everyone’s still got ‘em. What am I being paid for if no one listens to me????

Great day for anyone who’s been priced out of the best TV option (in my expert TV-watching opinion)! YouTubeTV will roll out a cheaper plan specifically for sports watchers. Say goodbye to the days of texting your friend Miles in New Orleans for his login. Oh, that was just me?

Speaking of YouTube, kinda, Ben Shelton’s new YouTube show “The Long Game” premiered and will make you feel all the feels (remember when we used to say that?). Is it a coincidence Trinity dropped her vlog on the same day? Probably, but that’s not what gets clicks, baby!

“The 50 Names in the Boardroom” is BOARDROOM’s list of the most relevant people in business this year. The folks who had a great 2025 and will have an even better 2026. Did you make the list?

@jcubedhax

you know I had to sing the names #womenssports #winterolympics #skiing #reindeer

Mariah Keopple is a defender for the Professional Women’s Hockey League’s Seattle Torrent. But the 25-year-old is better than you in more than just that one way. She’s also the gifted designer behind “riah the label.” So, for those keeping track, that’s two things already accomplished that most of us will never come close to doing in our entire lives, ha ha... 

Anyway, she’s proven herself so talented already that in the sparse moments not spent on the ice, she’s casually hosting her own fashion shows. I chatted with her via email (shoutout to the migraine that came on and derailed our proper phone call) to hear her story. 

Offball: What was the process of becoming a designer like?

Mariah Keopple: I became a designer by finding my childhood creativity again. I bought my first sewing machine during the pandemic and went straight to YouTube to learn all the different techniques and skills at a basic level. 

From there, I began to understand more and found a strong desire to learn new things, [like] learning how to make a corset, which was the first garment I ever created from start to finish. I was teaching myself everything from home while also training for hockey. Walk-in outfits gave me the perfect outlet to combine both of my passions into one. This is when I really took design to the next level. 

OB: Which was your first love: hockey or fashion?

MK: I have always been creative/crafty since I was little, but I would say my first love was hockey. It really shaped who I am as a person today and has provided me with so many opportunities that I wouldn't have dreamed of as a little girl. However, being able to combine the two passions/loves is truly so incredible.  

OB: How involved is the design process for you?

MK: It really depends on what exactly I'm working on, but I always love to see a vision for a design truly come to life. For some pieces, that means a lot of finding and developing inspiration and drawings. For others, it's just about picking up the scissors and taking it to some fabric. For the show the design process was super involved, yet I made sure to have space for changing ideas, and I developed the collection to make sure I could expand on the vision I was seeing. 

OB: How do you have time to do it all!?

MK: This is the most asked question I get, and I always giggle a little because it's honestly just how I function. I have such a hard time being bored.  Even when I am on the couch watching TV, I will be on Pinterest, Canva, or just reading up on things. I am constantly writing down ideas or thoughts of inspiration. 

The main reason I have the time to get things done? MY PLANNER. I live in my planner, and it has to be handwritten — not handwritten on an iPad. Pen and Paper. I don't know why, but nothing has ever worked as well for me as a paper planner and a pen.

OB: Who are some of your favorite designers? 

MK: I love Marc Jacobs and Nickey Zimmermann from Zimmermann.

OB: Who inspires you? 

MK: I get inspired by so many people and places around me. Especially my teammates. Throughout the years, seeing their relationship to fashion and their different perspectives just helps me see such a wide range of different ideas within the fashion world. Many of them don't even consider themselves to be "with" fashion or trends, or even their own style, but seeing their interactions with the clothes and materials around them is so intriguing.  

OB: You showed a collection of 12 pieces in a show at the Museum of Flight show. How did that come about?

MK: The Museum of Flight show came a couple months after I signed my contract in Seattle, and it was my agent who brought up the idea to me and made the initial contact, so thanks to her, I can now say I was in my first runway show! It was such great timing of the show and the start of camp, so I was able to participate. 

OB: How did it feel to see Seattle Storm players like Gabby Williams in the audience at your show?

MK: It's so amazing to see the support within women's sports everywhere, but especially within Seattle. Everyone is so supportive, and it was the same outside of the court and rink for this experience. Having Gabby at the show just shows that women's sports show up for women's sports. We may have some cool things planned for the WNBA season!

Few people on this here planet we inhabit had a better year than A’ja Wilson. I love astrology but I think Chinese astrology miscalculated when they said the next year of the GOAT would be in 2027. It was 2025.

Looking back, in chronological order, her year started with a jersey retirement at her alma mater, South Carolina. Then, she hard launched a relationship with someone who just so happens to be a beloved NBA player.

She won a WNBA championship (and hit the game-winning shot). And that, and other games, led to her being named WNBA MVP. She’s the only one to do that four times, by the way. 

Our readers know by now that she was our OffBall25 Cultural MVP (that’s obviously one of the most important accolades of the year), and the highs just kept on coming. And she doesn’t even talk sh*t, because she doesn’t have to. She’s now one of the most impressive collectors in the game. She’s on Thanos’ level. 

Just this week, she was named TIME’s A’OTY (Athlete of the Year), and if that wasn’t enough, which I guess it wasn’t, for the GOAT, the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced A’ja would be on the Met Gala host committee. 

And finally, I know this isn’t an award, but everyone has to watch her on “Hot Ones.” Or else. 

This is the kind of greed they talked about in the Bible (positive). 

@sarahconti

My favorite part of gameday!! #fyp #nfl #67 #football #sports