One particular brand has absolutely dominated the pro pickleball fashion scene over the last year — 11NIL.

The premium activewear brand created the corset athletic dresses most commonly worn by Hurricane Tyra Black, Jorja Johnson, Jessie Irvine, and countless other women.

These dresses often feature bold and bright colors with mesh panel details or bubble skirts that stand out on the court. There’s one element in nearly every single design, though, and that's a corset. 

11NIL co-founder, Katrina Glusac, shared the inside scoop on how this LA brand developed the sport's hottest and most popular dress. 

“I was pretty involved with pickleball because my son plays a lot of pickleball and my husband plays all the time with friends. I grew up playing tennis, too, and I’ve always loved racket sports. But honestly, I owe a lot of it to Tyra Black. She’s the one who really got us into the pro scene,” explained Glusac. 

“Tyra is a shopper, so she saw an ad for 11NIL on her feed and she bought the first dress herself. At the time, the company was still growing, so I used to look at the customers’ names when the sales were coming in. I saw Tyra Black, and I thought no way could this actually be her. But sure enough, it was her, so I contacted her and that’s kind of how it really all started,” she added.

Black then introduced Glusac to Jorja Johnson. 

“I’ll never forget this,” she mentioned. “Julie Johnson, her mom, comes up to me and tells me, ‘Thank you for getting my daughter out of sweats. I’m a little indebted to you because you got Jorja into fashion, but now she’s shopping so much her closet is exploding.’”

The corset dresses from 11NIL were the catalyst for Johnson becoming one of the most fashionable women on tour. 

“Now Jorja is this super fashionista,” praised Glusac. “I think she and Tyra really set the path for other girls to start dressing and encouraging other players who weren’t as fashionable to start trying out new clothes.”

There's no denying that 11NIL changed the pickleball fashion game.

I can’t go to any PPA or MLP tournament without seeing at least a dozen people wearing 11NIL dresses around the venue—from players to spectators and Pickleballtv broadcasters. The corsets are truly everywhere.  

A corset, however, wasn't always a common element in athletic apparel. mainly because of boning and structural components that shape a woman’s figure.

But, it's one of 11NIL’s most popular design elements in their catalogue.  

“Growing up, I was so inspired by Balenciaga and Thierry Mugler, who were all about the shoulder and waist. Corsetry makes the perfect waist,” insisted Glusac. “I wanted to dress up the dresses because I was so tired of looking at boring athletic dresses.” 

11NIL is anything but boring.

Glusac shared her favorite dress from the current lineup. 

“One of my favorites is the Lisbon, and Tyra loves that dress, too. I did it based on a ballerina, so it doesn’t look like a tennis dress,” she concluded. “It has corsetry, mesh panels, and a skater skirt, so it looks like something from ballet. But even the dresses that aren’t fully corseted, I try to add an additional detail like a drop V waist or something for visual interest.”

So if you’re looking to dress as stylish as the pros, 11NIL is a great place to start.

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