Adam Selman Loves Texas Cheerleaders and Dennis Rodman In A Wedding Dress

Adam Selman is no rookie. Before he was designing sheer Swarovski crystal dresses and feather tube tops for the likes of Rihanna, Selman was on the field as a competitive cheerleader. “I grew up in Texas, and it was a really big thing. It was the MTA National Championships. I was a junior Olympian gold medalist.” Though he doesn’t identify as a “sports person,” it’s this cheerleading background that has seeped into his new collection, Adam Selman Sport — a neon-infused, leopard-print heavy, all-around cheeky collection of athleticwear. “It’s such a distant time, I feel like it’s almost a different life for me that I never really talk about. But doing this now has really brought up what I was into — it was really fun to revisit it.” In the spirit of camaraderie, we asked Selman to share his style MVPs, from Dennis Rodman (who could forget that wedding dress moment) to the captain of his high school cheer squad.

 ———

———

KERRI STRUG, Olympic gymnast

“Gymnastics was a big thing for me growing up. I’m obsessed with Kerri Strug. She vaulted and broke her ankle and then vaulted again and stuck the landing. She was a national hero for sticking the landing, an iconic woman in gymnastics history. Have you ever played that game celebrity where you write down a celebrity’s name? I always write down Kerri Strug’s name because it’s such an obscure reference. My dream is to dress Team USA for the summer.”

———

FLORENCE GRIFFITH JOYNER (“FLO JO”), track and field runner

“Flo Jo probably has the most iconic style to me in sports, with the nails and the one-legged catsuit. I think she was even fined for wearing those outfits in the Olympics because they weren’t up to regulations standards — which is so baller if you really think about it. She was like, ‘Okay, fuck you. I’m still gonna wear that.’ I’m obsessed with her.”

———

DENNIS RODAMN, retired NBA player

“There is a Dennis Rodman in me forever, just because I like it when people supersede sports, when they totally surpass what they do and enter a whole new arena. He was dating Pam Anderson for a while, and then he married himself. He married himself and wore a wedding dress instead of a tux. I mean, come on, that is genius.”

———

GREG LOUGANIS, Olympic diver

“You can’t leave out Greg. It was more of a political movement in sports. Even though he just wore a Speedo in sports, in my mind he was burned into my gay upbringing, and the idea of fantasy in sports. I was super into Greg.”

———

CHARCEILA CEY HOLLOWAY, captain of Selman’s high school squad

“Cheerleading in general is always gonna be there for me. I’m obsessed with red white and blue and being all-American, and having a peppy spirit is something I always go for. The girls with the hairspray and the big top-buns I’m always obsessed with. The captain of my high school squad was Charceila Cey Holloway. We called her CC for short. That sort of mentality and humor around it is always something that will be there for me.”