CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (CHARLOTTE SPORTS LIVE) — By 1995, the NBA had a bit of a pinstripe obsession.
“That old-school classic,” remarked Hornets forward Grant Williams, a Charlotte native.
Taking a page from the Yankees, Michael Jordan and the Bulls got them. The Magic did too.
“It was fashionable,” he explains.
And fresh off back to back championships, so did the Houston Rockets.
“I just think that it was something that was a jersey you could wear to school,” he said.
Meanwhile, watching from afar, the person who started it all, could only shake his head.
“They say emulation is the sincerest form of flattery, but sometimes it’s aggravating,” said Chapel Hill native Alexander Julian. “You get used to it.”
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Penny Hardaway in 1996. Mandatory Credit: ALLSPORT USA/Allsport -
Hakeem Olajuwon in 1996. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) -
Dell Curry in 1993. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Dell Curry -
Michael Jordan in 1996. (Photo by Manny Millan/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images) (SetNumber: X49961)
In basketball, Julian never set out to be a trendsetter. By the mid-1980s, he was already an accomplished fashion designer, building an empire based on the principles set forth by his mom and dad, dubbed by the New York Times as the “grandparents of preppy.” But Julian also liked a challenge.
“That was my first question to George (Shinn),” Julian recalled. “What is the name of the team?”
At the time, Shinn didn’t have a lot of the answers but what he did know is that he wanted Julian to design the uniforms of the team he owned. The one that would become to be known as the Hornets.
“I said, ‘George, I’ll tell you what,” Julian remembered. “I’m going to trade you ownership of the Hornets uniforms for five pounds of Carolina BBQ a month. I remember hanging up the phone after we agreed, saying, ‘this is going to be interesting.'”
That’s because Julian already was thinking of an idea that would shake the NBA fashion world to its core.
“Essentially, a basketball jersey is a knit shirt,” he explained. “The knit shirts that I was famous for were vertical-striped knits.”
So ultimately, it was pulled pork for pinstripes. But there was more.
“The shorts were the first pleated basketball shorts in history,” he says proudly.
And did we mention the color?
“Everything in Charlotte became teal. There is still a lot of teal there now,” Julian said.
On the court, there was a lot to be desired but as far as uniforms go, Charlotte had a winner.
“It gave you everything you could ask for,” Williams said.
Yet as it turned out, someone wanted something else.
“Having Dean Smith on the phone asking me for new Tar Heels uniforms, it was like having god asking for new hallows for the arch angles,” Julian said.
Impressed by Julian’s work, North Carolina’s legendary coach wanted to update his team’s look. This time around, Julian decided to go a different route.
“I think the argyle is more different than anything else visually in college sports,” he said explaining his decision. “No one has anything like it. It is an instant get visually when you see it. It is timeless”
And now just like Julian’s pinstripes, it’s now a part of Carolina sports history.
“I felt a little bit like Dr. Frankenstein,” he says.
Julian created a monster alright. Not to mention, one incredible legacy.