{"id":323872,"date":"2026-03-11T08:55:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T08:55:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/323872\/"},"modified":"2026-03-11T08:55:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T08:55:08","slug":"aussie-basketballer-liz-cambage-unrecognisable-at-fashion-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/323872\/","title":{"rendered":"Aussie basketballer Liz Cambage unrecognisable at fashion show"},"content":{"rendered":"

Australian basketballer Liz Cambage has strutted her stuff at Paris Fashion Week, appearing virtually unrecognisable with a haunting look. <\/p>\n

Cambage hit the runway at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris last week as part of Paris Fashion Week Fall 2026 for Rick Owens, a Paris-based American fashion designer best known for his edge \u201cglunge\u201d (glamour and grunge) clothing designs.<\/p>\n

She shared photos and videos of her modelling an all-black outfit featuring leather boots and shorts, along with a black-camouflage jacket. <\/p>\n

Cambage completed the ensemble with what appeared to be black contact lenses that made her eyes completely dark, in a seriously bold look.<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing but love for my @rickowensonline family\u201d Cambage she on Instagram.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuch an honour and blessing to be apart of Rick\u2019s extraordinary world once again.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 34-year-old is an avid fashion aficionado and made her Paris runway debut in 2024 with Rick Owens. She has also modelled for the Grace Ling fashion label. <\/p>\n

On the basketball court, Cambage is still playing professionally for Sichuan Yuanda of the Women\u2019s Chinese Basketball Association.<\/p>\n

Cambage joined the Chinese league in 2024 on a reported $1 million per season deal after announcing she was ending her successful stint in America\u2019s WNBA<\/a> in 2022. <\/p>\n

The Aussie parted ways with the Los Angeles Sparks in a mid-season \u201ccontract divorce\u201d on the eve of the WNBA playoffs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve decided to step away from the league for the time being and I\u2019m hopeful that the WNBA will do their part in creating safer environments and a stronger support system for their players,\u201d Cambage said at the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlaying for the Sparks was a dream come true and I\u2019m honoured to have shared the court with such amazing ladies for as long as we did. I\u2019m sorry to have left abruptly and I wish it would have ended on a different note.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cambage\u2019s career has been plagued by controversy in recent years. She pulled out of the Opal\u2019s Tokyo Olympic campaign after allegations she used a racial slur towards Nigerian players during a warm-up game.<\/p>\n

Former Opals captain Jenna O\u2019Hea confirmed Cambage had told the Nigerian players: \u201cGo back to your third world country.\u201d<\/p>\n

News Corp revealed she physically lashed out at Nigerian players and referred to her opponents as \u201cmonkeys\u201d, which Cambage has repeatedly denied.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t really lean towards racially backed insults,\u201d she said in 2023.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not how I go.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very pro-Black. I did not say these things to these girls.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Australian has slammed the Opals and said she had \u201czero\u201d interest in representing her country at this year\u2019s World Cup.<\/p>\n

In light of Cambage\u2019s departure from the Sparks, footage emerged of an awkward press conference in July, where she is seated next to Sparks teammates, Nneka and Chiney Ogwumike.<\/p>\n

In the video, the Ogwumike sisters \u2014 who are Nigerian \u2014 could be seen squirming uncomfortably and even rolling their eyes as Cambage spoke about her return from Covid-19.<\/p>\n

Cambage was ejected from a game in China in 2024 after committing two flagrant fouls against opponents.<\/p>\n

She then yelled in the face of an official, skipped down the baseline and bowed to the crowd before leaving the court.<\/p>\n

It has since been reported one of Nigeria\u2019s star players would \u201cwelcome\u201d Cambage into the team<\/a> as she continues her international wilderness.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf she (Liz) wants to play she is welcome to the family,\u201d Elizabeth Balogun said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe accept all Nigerian natives on the team, so she is totally welcome.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Australian centre has previously said she was trying to register to play for Nigeria but it was not greeted with enthusiasm from the country\u2019s players at the time.<\/p>\n

Balogun is part of a Nigeria side that has made the quarter-finals at the Paris Olympics \u2013 the first African side, men or women, to do so.<\/p>\n

She was on the court during that fateful game against Australia in 2021 and says it \u201cput the fire in us\u201d to push on to greater heights.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Australian basketballer Liz Cambage has strutted her stuff at Paris Fashion Week, appearing virtually unrecognisable with a haunting…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":323873,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[430,156,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-323872","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323872","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=323872"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323872\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/323873"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=323872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=323872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=323872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}