Katy Winge is a Sports Reporter, Host and Analyst for the Denver Nuggets on Altitude TV. Through the enticing outfits she wears on the court, she easily grabs the attention of many Denver fashion lovers.
Wearing only a standard black suit was never for Winge — she truly does bring the runway to the court with her variety of professional wear.
Born and raised in Minnetonka, Minnesota — Winge always loved sports. She grew up playing every sport imagined like basketball, football and soccer within her neighborhood. “You name it — I played it,” Winge said.
Soccer was the first organized sport she played in but later discovered her love for basketball.
In third grade, she first started playing basketball and it wasn’t until she joined her first travel team in fifth grade that the sport took over her life. Nearly every weekend, she found herself traveling and competing until she joined the Amateur Athletic Union in eighth grade, which allowed her to play year round.
Winge later joined her high school team, making varsity when she was only just a freshman. As a senior, she was recruited to play at the Collegiate D1 level for Illinois State.
During her time at Illinois State, Winge worked towards a double major in Marketing and Broadcast Journalism. She knew that she loved sports broadcasting after she first participated in a broadcast program called Kids Run The Station in elementary school.
After she graduated from Illinois State, she worked at a small market local TV station where she worked as a news producer and sports anchor.
She continued this position until she attended Northwestern University in Chicago, where she obtained her master’s degree in Sports Journalism. During this time, Winge took on a freelance job where she covered Illinois basketball games on the Comcast SportsNet Chicago channel.
Upon her last quarter at Northwestern University, Winge applied for a variety of positions within the National Basketball Association (NBA).
“I found the in-arena reporter job with the Nuggets, applied, and ended up being offered the job,” Winge said. “I worked with game presentations in-arena for one full season and then switched to Altitude TV.”
Winge believes that one of the best parts of her job is bringing together so many people over one common topic — a love of sports. Winge also said that the job is incredibly rewarding, especially as a woman working in the NBA.
“I also love that I get to be someone women and girls can look at and see themselves,” Winge said. “Conversations I have about me being a voice for women in the game of basketball, or hearing little girls love watching and want to be like me someday — those are the greatest compliments I can receive and it means so much to me.”
What better way to be a spokesperson for women than also dressing the part? Winge has gained the attention of many on the sidelines through her unique, stylish outfits.
“My outfit is one of the first things someone sees — it tells a story,” she said.
The reporter has always loved fashion, but never really paid much attention to it until she started appearing in front of the camera. She quoted Zendaya, one of her style icons, when she said, “Fashion adds this layer of protection and confidence.”
When Winge is wearing something she feels good about, she finds that it quietly encourages her to focus on her job and create her best work. Despite her love for it, she finds dressing up to be one of the most difficult parts of her job — especially as a woman in a male-dominated industry.
“There are challenges men in my roles simply don’t face — am I dressing too sexy? Too revealing? Am I being too conservative? Is this appropriate for work? There are lots of questions that go through my head each day when deciding what to wear and I don’t think most men experience those types of thoughts,” Winge said.
This is where Winge’s stylist comes in. Morgan Van Riper-Rose is a fellow basketball lover. In fact, Winge and Van Riper-Rose grew up playing the sport together in Minnesota and have been best friends ever since.
While working with Van Riper-Rose, Winge has learned so much about what makes a good outfit pop. She’s learned how to style to fit her body shape, what colors bring out her features best and how to pull together elements to elevate an outfit.
“I truly have never felt more put together or confident in my look than I do being styled by her,” Winge mentioned. “It is such a weight off my shoulders to know that whatever she comes up with for me is going to be great. It allows me to focus on basketball and the storytelling that I love so much.”
Winge rents nearly everything she wears, primarily obtaining clothing through popular fashion websites like Rent the Runway and Nuuly. Winge has learned to love renting because it gives her more freedom with what she wears. It also lets her wear recent trendy items while avoiding participating in over-consumption.
As Winge wears different outfits for the 82+ games in the season, she constantly has to add new pieces into her collection and renting allows her to do so guilt-free.
“Plus, I feel like I change and evolve often with my style, and renting allows my closet to be as fluid as me,” she said.
The pieces Winge rents, she keeps an eye out for a few key factors. Her stylist encourages her to look for great quality and great fits in items as well as focys on the length of her clothing. She always keeps her eye on taller sizes because the silhouettes look much more elegant and put together on her.
Recently, Winge began educating herself on the difference between wearing and styling an outfit.
“Watching an outfit come together by adding jewelry or other accessories, a certain hairstyle, or the right shoes, is an experience,” she said.
Van Riper-Rose always looks at the silhouettes and proportions of pieces she puts on Winge. She compares the process to a puzzle because it can be difficult to find what pieces work well together, but the process is incredibly rewarding.
The reporter also works to fluctuate her outfits depending on what work she will be completing that night. When Winge is reporting, she wears clothes that are comfortable and easy to move around in since she’ll be walking majority of the night.
As a host or analyst, she’ll wear a skirt or dress since she’ll be sitting throughout the night. With this, she mentions that it doesn’t matter much to her what items she is wearing but rather how she feels in the outfit.
“It is about what you feel beautiful and comfortable in,” Winge said.
Winge also stresses the importance of representing herself through her attire especially because she always has speak to strangers. Needless to say, the first impression is super important.
The reporter said that when she looks her best, she feels more comfortable meeting new people so quickly when she looks her best. Fashion allows her to do just that.
“I get to be myself and do what I love and that’s when I’m at my best,” she said.
All photos by Ellen Stokes