N4XT Experiences is unleashing the big guns for its New York Fashion Week introduction.
The event producer and owner/operator of LA Fashion Week (LAFW), is bringing NBA star and entrepreneur Russell Westbrook on board as an investor and its inaugural resident curator.
As such, the athlete and trendsetter will convene leading voices in fashion, arts, entertainment and sports to shape N4XT’s experiences and events in both New York and L.A., beginning in 2026.
This season in New York, he will light the Empire State Building Wednesday alongside model and activist Bethann Hardison and Imad Izemrane, chief executive officer of N4XT Experiences, as part of the official opening of New York Fashion Week. The building will be lit in blue, Wilson’s favorite color.
N4XT Experiences was cofounded by Izemrane, who had formerly operated the Spring Place event space, to reinvent NYFW and build a future-forward platform for American fashion. The company, which specializes in creative direction, brand strategy and experiential programming that merges fashion, beauty, gaming and culture, acquired LA Fashion Week in 2022. When IMG announced its plans this spring to pivot from producing a centralized venue for NYFW: The Shows to concentrate on facilitating partnerships and creative collaborations between brands and designers, N4XT jumped in.
But N4XT will not just be an IMG follower. Instead, Izemrane said it will host a number of designers including Brandon Maxwell, Simkhai, Off-White, Sergio Hudson, Tibi, Altuzarra, Kallmayer, Kate Barton and Aknvas at various venues around the city.
Additionally, KFN, a subsidiary of N4XT Experiences, has opened its showroom, High Line Nine, for various brand events. On Thursday, Vivienne Sabo will host a consumer-facing event during the day, as well as cocktails in the evening, while Maison Perrier will be on-site throughout the week.
Izemrane said the designers who are working with his company only to have to worry about the “front of house,” and his company will take care of everything else. And the lack of a centralized location is also intentional because it will allow each brand to select a venue that is special to them. “In the new digital era where content and the material that you create from your show is essentially your marketing campaign, everybody wants to have their own background, their own look and feel and taste that’s connected to their collection,” he said.
“From day one, N4XT Experiences has been committed to reshaping the cultural zeitgeist through live events that drive both consumer and industry engagement,” Izemrane said. “Like Russell, we aren’t afraid to reimagine the rules. His voice, creativity, and leadership will play an integral role in the continued evolution of the N4XT platform.”
Imad Izemrane
Courtesy of N4XT Experiences
He added that after being introduced to Westbrook by a mutual friend, he realized it was “a perfect match for us, considering everything else that he’s doing with giving back to the community and having such a big voice in the world of fashion. We couldn’t be more honored and blessed that somebody of his stature in sports, in doing good, in fashion, in culture, was excited to join us.”
“Being named resident curator for N4XT Experiences in both LA and NY is an incredible honor,” Westbrook added. “Fashion has always been a way for me to express myself, but what excites me most is the chance to use this platform to further build community and shape programming by creating space for creativity, culture, and purpose to collide.”
He continued: “I’ve been in fashion and involved in designing and creating and doing different things for many years now. But I’ve always tried to find ways to kind of make an imprint in fashion in any way that I can. And N4XT has the way to do that. When I invest in something, I want to be involved start to finish, and I’m super excited about this.”
Westbrook, best known for his Hall of Fame-worthy basketball career, has long had an affinity for fashion. Over the years, the NBA star has partnered with everyone from Barneys New York and Jordan Brand to True Religion and Zenith watches. Nine years ago, he launched his own brand, Honor the Gift, an affordable streetwear label, and in June, he partnered with fashion industry veteran Gary Wassner, chief executive officer of Hilldun Corp., and his son Cole Wassner, CEO of Wassner Management Group, on a new elevated sportswear and denim collection called appropriately: Westbrook by HTG.
He said he finds fashion as “a way to bring communities and cultures together.”
The athlete also had a charity, the Why Not? Foundation, that works to empower children and adults in underserved communities. Because of a charity poker game he’s hosting Thursday in Las Vegas, Westbrook said he won’t be able to attend NYFW this season.