Behind some of professional sports' most recognizable hairstyles are the women turning braiding into an art form. From Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's signature cornrows to intricate designs seen across the NFL, these talented hairstylists are making names for themselves one braid at a time.

Karina Hibbitt

Based In: Seattle, Washington

At just 22 years old, braider Karina Hibbitt has a long list of famous clients. She’s braided for Natisha Hiedeman (a WNBA player for the Seattle Storm), Jon Bell (a professional footballer for Austin FC), Marcus Thuram (a professional footballer for Inter Milan) and most of the Seattle Seahawks players—including Leonard Williams, Zach Charbonnet, Nick Emmanwori and Ernest Jones IV. And it all started during her freshman year of college. “A University of Washington football player asked me if I knew how to braid hair,” she explains. Growing up in a small town, Hibbitt says there weren’t a lot of Black people, or even people with different hair textures, around her. “I just had the basic skills that every girl knows from braiding her friends’ hair,” she says. But she decided to give it a try, and the football player liked the end result. A couple of years later, after much more practice, Hibbitt decided to take a chance on herself and open up her own studio. “I went from 10 clients—on a really good week—to 25 clients my first week in the studio.” It’s been a few years since then, and in her first year doing hair full-time, Hibbitt says she’s seeing more success than she ever could have imagined. “I ended up at the Super Bowl and the World Cup,” she says. “I’ve been flown out for hair—just insane stuff. I’m really big on faith, and if I was not meant to be in this room, I definitely would not be. If anything, I see it as a networking opportunity. I want to be in those rooms where I can get my name out there. I’m not nervous; I’m ready.”

Alysha Bona

Based in: Ajax, Ontario

“I’ve always loved doing hair,” says braider Alysha Bona. “I just didn’t think it would lead me here.” Bona taught herself how to braid by watching YouTube videos, practising on people in her high- school cafeteria and trying different styles on herself. “With practice came perfection, and that’s how I gained all my clients,” she says. One of those clients is NBA champion and two- time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA), from Hamilton, Ont. The braiding community is notoriously tight-knit, and Gilgeous- Alexander found Bona through another one of her famous Canadian clients. “SGA’s manager reached out to Drake, whom I also work with, for my contact info,” she explains. The basketball star is very different from other clients because of how much he values his signature look. “If you’ll notice, he has the exact same braids every single time: six straight-back braids,” says Bona. “That’s his thing. He doesn’t veer from that at all.” Maintain- ing that style meant that during last year’s season, Bona was flying from Toronto to Oklahoma City every two to three weeks to refresh Gilgeous-Alexander’s braids. Travelling so often is a huge commitment, and life on the road can be difficult, but it’s also one of Bona’s favourite parts of the job. “Being able to travel and experience the world is an amazing perk,” she says. “Sometimes it doesn’t even feel real. Just saying it out loud is like, ‘Wow, I actually do that.’”

Tiffany Poles

Based in: Charlotte, N.C.

If you’re a basketball fan, you’ve probably seen the now-iconic picture of Allen Iverson getting his hair braided while taking a breather on the bench in the middle of a game. And perhaps you thought the woman braiding Iverson’s hair was his mother, but Tiffany Poles is quick to correct me. “That’s actually his aunt, not his mom,” she says. She knows because he’s her client. Poles is a veteran in the braiding game. “I’ve been braiding since I was 12, and I started working in a barbershop at 17,” she says. “I got licensed once I moved to North Carolina in 2013.” Around that time, a childhood friend of Poles, who played on the Carolina Panthers, reached out and asked her to braid his hair. “Then he told Cam Newton about me,” Poles recalls. “And once Cam found out about me, anybody with hair on the Panthers had to come to me. It just blew up from there.” Now her long list of clients includes NFL players Ted Ginn Jr., Antonio Brown and Curtis Samuel and NBA players Caleb Wilson and Miles Bridges, to name a few. It’s Poles’ creativity—her ability to design something from scratch and make it come to life through a hairstyle—that clients love and respect.“They trust me—they have seen my work and know what I can do,” Poles says. “Some will have inspiration; some will just say ‘Do whatever you feel for my head.’ They believe in my craft.”

This article first appeared in FASHION’s October 2026 issue. Read more stories from FASHION’s October 2026 issue and subscribe to the print issue here.