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For Players, by Players: Inside the Playa Society x Overtime Select Collab
Historically, athlete apparel has been designed for players, not with them. This has been especially true within women's sports.
Esther Wallace, a native of Springfield, Mass. and former Division I basketball player, has been trying to change that since 2018 with Playa Society. Over the last eight years, the independent brand has cultivated a loyal following thanks to its vintage-inspired apparel—designs Wallace has gravitated towards because the garment industry should've been offering this product for decades.
Wallace and her Playa Society operation have struck gold with an official licensing deal with the WNBA, celebrating individual athletes, occasions like All-Star Weekend, and championship-winning teams. Ahead of the 2026 WNBA All-Star Game, Playa Society revealed a collaboration with A'ja Wilson and Nike Basketball slated to release in November.
Today, Playa Society unveils the latest effort in its central mission of elevating women's sports: a first-time apparel collaboration with Overtime, timed alongside the launch of Season 3 of OT Select—the elite summer basketball vertical featuring the country's top young women's high school recruits.
“Note”GG Banks, Jordyn Palmer & Jessie Moses wearing the Playa Society x Overtime "BELIEVE" Hoodie. Photo via Overtime.
The inaugural capsule consists of graphic t-shirt and hoodie rooted in a trendy Y2K aesthetic, which was landed on during a hands-on creative workshop with over a dozen OT Select participants hosted by Wallace at OTE Arena in Atlanta.
One of the participants was Tati Griffin, the second-year OT Select hooper and top-ranked player in the girl's Class of 2028.
"It was a dream come true to work with Playa Society and create a design that represents who we are and what we do at OT Select," shared Griffin in a press release. "Growing up in the women’s basketball community, I’ve always been a big fan of Playa Society, so it was super special to be a part of the process with Esther and help create something that really looks and feels like me."
In conversation with House of Heat°, Griffin also shared the following about her experience helping design apparel for Playa Society's collaboration with Overtime: "Honestly...it was crazy and special to me...it was inspiring...[to see how Esther] does stuff and [to see] other girls in there to be able to show what they can do outside of basketball."
What the 16-year-old hooper and her peers felt wasn't a mistake—it was part of the vision Wallace had for her partnership with Overtime: "Giving a voice and providing a creative outlet to the next generation of athletes...was the foundation...to the product [we've put out]," she told House of Heat°.
When asked if there was a difference between working on apparel with older pro hoopers and the Season 3 OT Select high schoolers, Wallace spoke to the scope of the creative cohort, its discipline and excitement to explore creativity: "I was so impressed because every athlete in that room really carries themselves with such a professional disposition in terms of where they wanna go...what their goals are...you can feel it, you can see it."
Tati Griffin and her peers are only teenagers, but they've already gathered years of experience following well-defined rules—be it on-the-court or in everything surrounding the game (i.e. nutrition, training, media interactions). However, the creative workshop with Playa Society gave these young girls a break from the rigidity of their everyday lives. For Wallace, it was important to tell participants, "Hey, this is about you and what you feel compelled to do; what feels right to you; what looks right [to you]—there's no rules."
“Note”Esther Wallace during 2026 WNBA All-Star Weekend. Photos via Ester Wallace.
The creative outlet cultivated by Wallace and Overtime resulted in two clothing styles that capture the energy present in the OTE Arena on that day. Both the graphic t-shirt and hooded sweater by Playa Society and Overtime blend a vintage foundation with futuristic elements to reflect the current frequency that reverberates with Gen Z and Gen Alpha.
The two-item capsule sees a pitch-dark base that allows for chrome, Y2K-friendly graphics that see OT Select and Playa Society logos come together. Throughout the numerous creative exercises shared with Griffin and her peers, Wallace noticed many participants touched on the ideas of belief and believing. Naturally, the final apparel design includes large "BELIEVE" messaging, accompanied by a basketball.
As of this writing, the Playa Society x Overtime apparel collaboration is a one-off drop, but Wallace hopes the experience sparks the young women participants to continue indulging in their creativity outside of basketball and understand the importance of the journey in a world that tends to value results more.
For Griffin, the experience has already led her to imagine a life in which she's designing streetwear and playing basketball professionally: "It definitely sparked my interest...I am into streetwear and fashion and all that, so definitely, as I get older—I don't know [if] college or when I get into the league—[if] I want to get into [designing], but, hopefully something soon," she told us. "In my free time, I like to sketch a little bit—I'm not good, but I'm trying to get better," Griffin continued while letting out a laugh through her smile.
“Note”Playa Society x Overtime "BELIEVE" Graphic T-Shirt Worn By Jessie Moses. Photo via Overtime.
When asked what she hopes to see from the Playa Society x Overtime partnership over the next few seasons, Wallace shared: "I think [we have] the opportunity to...grow together...I think this [apparel drop] is one building block...to see how players themselves are developing their own thoughts and ideas around...self-expression...who [they are], what [they] like—maybe even their own personal literal brands...To be a part of that, and just, to help them discover those elements, those things—I think that that's really big."
In closing a 30-minute phone conversation, Wallace expressed that she hopes every young girl who participated in the making of the debut Playa Society x Overtime project holds onto the acknowledgment that their voices deserve a space even when they're five or 10 years removed from the collaboration. She considers this effort a building block for them "dictating and articulating their own narrative, telling their own story."
"I hope that their personal brands, their self-expression...evolves into something much bigger and greater," she continued. "I hope that [in 10 years] they're pulling their vintage Playa Society OT Select shirt out, maybe for practice or, you know, they're home watching film," Wallace said through light chuckling and a smile you can hear. "I hope that it brings them joy just to know that it's something that we all created together."
“Note”GG Banks, Jordyn Palmer & Jessie Moses wearing the Playa Society x Overtime "BELIEVE" Hoodie. Photo via Overtime.
The debut apparel capsule from Playa Society and Overtime is now live via shop.overtime.tv. Scheduling for the remainder of OT Select Season 3 is as follows:
