At the beginning of 2023, Desyree Nicole was having the time of her life.
She was celebrating her recent engagement to her now-fiancée at a private dinner after having been flown out to Paris, France by the Cognac brand LOUIS XIII for its event, The Drop. She was also still riding high from her appearance on the hit Netflix original show Next in Fashion, which would later help catapult her luxury menswear brand Todd Patrick into the international limelight.
But with all her recent successes in both her personal and professional lives, it was a chance meeting in Paris with an old friend from college, nearly 4,000 miles away from Detroit, that sparked a once-in-a-lifetime dream collaboration with her hometown basketball team, the Detroit Pistons.
During her trip for LOUIS XIII’s The Drop event, the Pistons were participating in the NBA’s second-ever regular season game in France. The team spent the better part of a week there in January for a game against the Chicago Bulls, where the league sent them on what can be described as a diplomatic tour. It’s one of the many efforts Commissioner Adam Silver has implemented during his time as commissioner to help grow the league to a more international fan base.
One of the events was a “Detroit Vs. Chicago” party at a nightclub following the Jan. 19 Pistons-Bulls game. Bilal Saeed, Vice President of Marketing and Branding for the Detroit Pistons, accompanied the team on the trip and was kind of hesitant about going to the party after an exhausting week and while the team had just suffered a loss to the Bulls.
“Detroit’s own RoSpit was DJing at the afterparty and I was getting a lot of pressure to appear there. Being the old guy that I am, I was trying to get out of it, but I decided that it was a great opportunity to represent the Pistons in Paris,” Saeed said.
Within seconds of walking in, Saeed spotted a familiar face, who was the center of attention on the dance floor. It was Desyree. She was there celebrating her birthday, which happened to be the same day as the Pistons-Bulls game.
“How many opportunities do you have to be around people from Detroit in Paris?” Desyree said. “So I decided to go to this Detroit Vs. Chicago party. When I saw Bilal walk in, I was like ‘Oh, shit! What up, Bilal?!”
The two knew each other from their days at Eastern Michigan University. Both are alums of the university, but they met through athletics. Desyree was the starting point guard for the women’s basketball team, and Saeed, who at the time owned and operated a marketing and branding company called PakMode, lead marketing for Eastern’s athletic department.
Desyree was the engine behind one of the most successful four-year runs in EMU’s women’s basketball history, while Saeed helped the university achieve an unprecedented level of visibility for its athletic programs.
“It’s crazy that that’s how we reconnected. But after that, we exchanged messages and kept in contact. A few weeks later I had her out to a game and found out that she was going to be on Next in Fashion, but by that time, we had already started talking about a collaboration between Todd Patrick and the Pistons,” Saeed said.
But just a few years ago, Desyree never even imagined having a clothing line, let alone having her luxury line be featured in high-end fashion shows and on an international network show. She wasn’t even into fashion herself when basketball was her lifestyle. She said, “I was wearing sweats every day.” So it was the farthest thing from her mind when she packed up and moved to New York in 2015 that she’d have the kinds of opportunities she been able to create for herself today.
She left for the big city with no friends, no family, and no money. She was awaiting an opportunity to play professional basketball overseas, but the opportunity fell through, and she was left to figure out her next steps.
“I really got inspired by the pace of New York and the fashion industry,” said Desyree, who was known on the basketball court for her lightening end-to-end speed and her constant ability to stay ahead of the game with her smart play. “I devoted all the time that I would’ve spent on basketball, on the fashion world…and it was pretty much running around and figuring it out by myself. I became a stylist and signed my first deal to style an NFL player in 2015. From there, I kept putting in the work to get clients. I worked with NBA guys and really worked hard to develop my brand identity.”
But by the time Desyree and Saeed ran into each other on the dance floor at this Parisian nightclub, both had ascended to new heights in their careers. Her: one of the up-and-coming international names and brands in fashion. Him: leading an NBA franchise’s marketing and branding department.
Desyree had not only become a recognizable figure, but has refined a unique style that has garnered recognition not only among the fashion pundits of New York, but also from streetwise fans as far away as Europe, South Africa, Japan, Korea, and the UK. Her work has been worn by notable names in all industries including Kevin Hart, Michael B. Jordan, Dave East, Big Sean and more. She was also featured as a part of an activation at NBA Con 2023 in Las Vegas during NBA Summer League.
Saeed, with just under a year in his role, has helped continue the Pistons’ transform into a more community-first brand – one that brings in local artists, musicians, community activists, and philanthropists, and gives them a place at the Pistons’ table to help shape the future of what the organization does and the way it interacts with the city.
A collaboration between Todd Patrick, where Desyree is the owner, founder, and creative director, and the Pistons, who embody the grit, drive, and motivation that led to Desyree’s success…well, it just made sense. So the two made it happen.
After months of discussions, research, product testing, market research, and analysis, the Detroit Pistons x Todd Patrick six-piece apparel line hit Little Caesars Arena ahead of the Pistons Dec. 2 matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The collection features inspiration from the city, and the mentality that has been ingrained into the culture of Michigan. Those that tie Todd Patrick’s fusion of uniqueness and stepping outside of the box with the iconic pillars of Detroit Pistons history. The apparel line includes two t-shirts, a hoodie, a workman jacket, a pair of athletic pants, and athletic shorts, all with the patented relaxed silhouettes merged with texture combinations Todd Patrick is known for. T-shirts come in youth sizes, while the inclusive nature of the products features adult sizes for all products available in small through 3XL.
While still maintaining the luxury design, quality, and feel of traditional Todd Patrick items, the products have been placed at a price point that is more accessible for fans, ranging from $50-$150.
“I think it’s a dream collaboration. You grow up watching your parents talk about the Pistons and the different eras,” said Desyree. “It’s a beautiful thing as a creative when they give you the keys without telling you no during the process. I’m blessed that people believed in me to see it through. I think who I am as a person and what the Pistons embody and represent go hand in hand, so I think it was obviously a perfect collaboration. I wouldn’t have wanted my first collaboration as a brand identity to be with anybody else.”
“Des represents that back-against-the-wall, odds-against-you, grind mentality,” Saeed said. “She entered the fashion world with this fearlessness that guided her there, and she’s maintained a sense of perseverance to stay the course when obstacles were in her way. That’s what the Pistons are about. That’s what Detroit is about. That’s why this is a perfect collaboration.”
Non-ticketed guests interested in purchasing the exclusive collection on Dec. 2 will be able to enter Little Caesars Arena at the Southeast Entrance from 1 p.m.-4 p.m. and shop the pop-up located near the UWM District Market. Doors will open for the Detroit Pistons vs. Cleveland Cavaliers contest at 5:30 p.m., and only ticketed guests will have access to the pop-up shop at that time.
“Everything that Eastern (Michigan University) and basketball has taught me, I use that,” Desyree said. “I treat everything as practice. If I want to get better in business and at design, I practice it. So when it’s gametime, I’m able to take all my practice – all the things I’ve learned in practice – and just put it into play. This collaboration is me putting all my years of practice into play.”
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