Kristin Juszczyk remembers Kobe Bryant through her designs.
The fashion designer, who went viral this year by creating a Taylor Swift Chiefs coat, recently custom-made Lakers patchwork pants for the late athlete’s wife, Vanessa Bryant, and their daughters — Natalia, Bianca and Capri — for the second Mamba League Invitational.
The event, held Aug. 24 in Los Angeles, is a two-day tournament organized by Nike that brings together the best high school basketball players in the city to honor Kobe’s legacy.
In a behind-the-scenes Instagram video titled “Mamba Mentality Forever,” Juszczyk showed off all the special details in honor of the basketball legend, who died at age 41 on Jan. 26, 2020, in a helicopter crash along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and more seven people.
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Each pair that Juszczyk, 30, has made for the family features an “8” and “24” — the numbers Bryant wore while with the Los Angeles Lakers. It also has the name “Bryant” and “Lakers” stitched from the Bryant jersey.
Juszczyk could see her work on Natalya (21) during the event, where they hugged sweetly on the court. The model and University of Southern California student wore pants with a white T-shirt, a black shoulder bag and gold jewelry.
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Vanessa and Kobe Bryant in 2019.
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Vanessa Bryant pays tribute to husband Kobe on his 46th birthday
Vanessa, 42, celebrated Kobe’s 46th birthday with a touching tribute on Instagram on August 23. She posted a throwback photo of herself kissing Kobe’s cheek with the caption, “I love you for now, forever and ever.”
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On that day, she also released an exclusive Mamba and Mambacita Sports collection called the LA Royal collection featuring a purple and gold t-shirt for adults and kids. All net proceeds from the collection will go to Mambacita Sports.
“Throughout Kobe’s career, he gave his heart to the city of Los Angeles by wearing purple and gold, and those colors represent his deep love for the game, the Lakers, and the city of Los Angeles,” Vanessa wrote on Instagram.
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Source: HIS Education