New Mitchell & Ness Creative Director Don C on the Power of the Throwback, Working With the Bulls, and Learning from Virgil Abloh

Virgil’s been honored a ton of different ways since his passing 16 months ago, but the Bulls wore an Off-White collab in Paris—where does that one rank?

It was special for me because it was through the lens I love—sports. But even when I was talking to the CEO, Andrea [Grilli] from Off-White, he was saying you just don’t understand how many references Virgil would use from the Bulls and MJ and how influential it was throughout his design ethos because it was a big part of his past and his history growing up being a fan. I don’t think a kid who grew up in the 90s has not been impacted by Michael Jordan and the Bulls. Whether it’s good or bad. 

Is there one lesson Virgil taught you that sticks more than any other? 

Absolutely. He encouraged me to welcome others to be a part of the process. I used to be kind of shut off—that’s kind of a Chicago mentality. Virgil really encouraged me to welcome others—like, let’s hear what this person has to say. So that’s something that’s key that I will always cherish among so many things. 

I know you’re an MJ guy. I know you’re also cool with LeBron James. Did LeBron becoming the NBA’s all-time leading scorer earlier this month make you re-evaluate, just a little bit, the GOAT debate? 

Man, you know with me there is no GOAT debate, with where I come from. But here’s the credit I want to give to LeBron: He is absolutely the greatest of this generation and he should take pride in being LeBron James. Comparison is the robbery of joy. Let’s celebrate his current moment. Let’s not even bring up Michael Jordan right now. Let’s celebrate LeBron’s moment. So that’s what I’ve just been encouraging. We are witnessing greatness happening right now and I believe he is, when it comes to longevity, redefining it, playing at such a high level in his [20th] year. It’s amazing. I don’t think we’ve seen anything like it in any sport. I just want to keep applauding him, man, and his longevity is taking him to No. 1 in every category. 

Did you watch the NBA All-Star Game? 

Yes, I did. 

Is there any way it can be fixed, or at least improved, from a fashion lens? Because from a competition standpoint, it’s broken. 

Absolutely. My suggestion is we need more attention to details of the jerseys and warmups. Like in the mid-90s—’95 and ’96, to be exact—the NBA All-Star Game uniform was at its apex. San Antonio, and the year before that in Phoenix, was on a whole ‘nother level. In Phoenix it was inspired by the southwestern theme, and when it went to San Antonio it was inspired by a fiesta, Texan theme. Now we need to be more inspired by the city. Next year in Indianapolis, I would like to see it be race car-inspired or something. Something that’s key to the culture of where All-Star is. And that’s the one thing I didn’t like about the draft right before the game. We didn’t have the jerseys ahead of time. We didn’t know what jersey they were going to wear. I’d also like to encourage Nike to not do any more heat press jerseys. I think people like the stitching. Now, Nike’s going to say innovation is the reason, but I’m like, come on, man. We like the jerseys to be stitched. The numbers and marks, everything needs to be stitched. That’s something I’d really like to see.