NBA’s Terance Mann brought his fashion (and basketball) to Lowell

Outside, it’s a seemingly quiet Thursday night in Lowell. The occasional car crawls by, and the air is dampened and sleepy from a downpour that only just ended.

But inside Lowell Memorial Auditorium, backstage is anything but lifeless.

The space bustles with activity, dozens of people rushing about for last-minute preparations for the imminent start of a fashion show. Some dash by clutching heaps of clothes in their arms, others carry expensive camera equipment on their shoulders. As music blasts from the speakers, a buzz of anticipation fills the air. There’s models, makeup artists, photographers, designers, and at the center of it all— an NBA player?

Dressed in a sleeveless Skechers hoodie, Terance Mann stands with lights and cameras trained on him. He’s a guard for the L.A. Clippers, and Mann’s foundation — the “Terance Mann Complete Player Foundation” — organized and brought this entire production to Lowell, the athlete’s hometown.

The foundation has been hosting a series of charity events over the past week, from a basketball tournament to a backpack drive and more. But the program first kicked off on Aug. 15 with the ‘No Limits’ Fashion Show, spotlighting local students from Lasell University.

The three main designers at the fashion show were Taylor Lane and Lauren Swift, who both graduated from Lasell this past spring, and Hazel Nichol, a rising senior. One would be selected to design a piece that Mann will wear in the tunnel during the upcoming NBA season.

“Fashion’s big in my life,” said Mann, who spoke with Esquire in December to discuss his interest in clothing, his basketball career, and his opinions on style in different parts of the country, including Boston. “When everybody sees me now, they’re kind of looking at me like, what is he wearing? So I feel like I’m a walking billboard almost half the time.”

The foundation’s partnership with Lasell began months ago when a mutual friend introduced executive director — and Terance’s mother — Daynia La-Force to the program’s administration. In April, La-Force and her team attended the university’s annual fashion show, Runway. They came in “very serious with their notepads” and sat front-row, scouting out student designers who created versatile pieces that seemed to best match their theme, said Ken Calhoun, assistant provost for the Lasell School of Fashion.

It was difficult to only choose three to take part in their fashion show, said La-Force, so they ended up selecting an additional 10 students for installations.

“There’s a lot of talent here, so I’m excited to bring that out and bring that to life,” said Mann, who, earlier today, announced Lauren Swift as the winner.

“I’m really excited to learn more about him and his fashion sense,” Swift said.

Her collection, which was largely influenced by her trip to Paris, consisted of pieces that could be mixed, matched, and reworn in various ways, she said. Mann liked her designs and connected with her style.

“This is an opportunity for students to not only show their work and be fashion designers, but also be immersed in a culture that does want to give back,” said Calhoun. “The lesson here is not just, ‘celebrity is helping students reach a level of visibility that they want.’ It’s also that here is a person who is spending his energy, time, money, attention on helping others.”

Months of preparation went into the show. This included securing a venue, hiring models, finding staff to regulate backstage operations and more, said Darran Matthews of ADMP Events in L.A., who helped organize the fashion show. But, it felt incredible to see their vision finally come to life.

“Yeah, he’s an L.A. Clipper,” said Matthews. “But this is where he was raised, so this is where his heart is.”

The foundation’s program continued over the next few days. From Aug. 16-18, they hosted the Billy G Classic, a basketball tournament with a cash prize of $20,000 in honor of Billy Gilmore, who was a director at the local Boys & Girls Club and a mentor for Mann. At the tournament, they held a backpack drive and gave away school supplies to local students. They also held a basketball camp from Aug. 19-22 at the Mill Works in Westford, with an academic fair on Wednesday where families could meet and speak with more than 60 prep schools.

Mann recently became a brand ambassador for Skechers, which donated 175 pairs of Skechers basketball shoes, branded t-shirts, custom pinnies, and uniforms to support the foundation’s week-long program. Mann is the first NBA player to debut their basketball shoe line.

The Terance Mann Complete Player Foundation aims to help underserved communities nationwide, particularly minority students, access academic opportunities. Partnered with the educational organization Inspiring Young Minds to help place minority students in the prep school system, they offer help with applications and essays, the SSAT entrance exam and funding for tuition.

“We just want to give kids an opportunity to get involved in activities that are positive and keep them from making poor decisions and off the street,” said La-Force.

The foundation also emphasizes the importance of sports, hosting athletic camps and clinics nationwide, where prep schools also come and meet with families to promote their unique programs.

“Sports can be a very important vehicle to get kids not only learning teamwork and resiliency, how to fail and get back up, but also teaching them how to really hone in on their talents and really focus on the important things in life,” said La-Force.

Earlier this year, the Clippers guard received the NBA Cares Award for his work in youth mentorship. It wasn’t an award just for him, said Mann, but also for his mother and everyone behind-the-scenes who organize the foundation’s events.

And now, with this platform, they want to give back to the community of Lowell.

“It really took a village to help me raise Martin and Terance,” La-Force said about her sons. As a former Division I basketball coach, her job required her to travel often as her kids were growing up. If it wasn’t for the community of Lowell, with friends that were able to pick them up from school and practice or take them to games on the weekends, said La-Force, “my boys wouldn’t be where they are today.”

That’s why it is so important for him to give back to the community, said Mann, who has wanted to start this foundation since he was in high school. Over the years, he has maintained close friendships with those that helped him as a kid, and pointed out a man behind the camera that he has known since he was 12 or 13 years old.

“We want to make sure we do the same for others,” said La-Force. “It’s very, very important when you do get to this level of life that you reach back and you support those who are coming behind you.”

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