Former DePaul women’s basketball guard Lexi Held has been making noise in her first WNBA season. Held has averaged 18.5 minutes through 18 appearances, posting 7.4 points per game in her rookie season with the Phoenix Mercury.
Held turns heads off the court, too. The WNBA pregame tunnel walk has recently transformed into a red carpet-like phenomenon that has broken the internet. Athletes show up and show out on their way into the arena before taking the court. This year, Lexi Held has been walking the tunnels like no rookie, thanks in large part to stylist and former DePaul Women’s Soccer player Lizzie Parilli.
Parilli graduated from DePaul in 2019 and was a four-year midfielder for the Blue Demons, earning BIG EAST All-Academic honors in all four seasons. Since trading in her cleats for the corporate world, she has been hustling her way to becoming a full-time stylist.
Parilli’s road to the fashion industry was not black and white. She earned her bachelor’s degree in public relations and, after working at a Chicago agency for three years, decided to change course.
I was [direct] messaging hundreds of people on LinkedIn, just trying to get someone to give me a chance, and finally, I got a response. It all happened within three days, and I was able to get a buying job for a company called Saks Parilli recalled. She immediately packed up and moved to New York to begin building her resume. Buying was just the first step. That was such a great time in my career because I had no professional fashion experience, and I learned so much about product development of clothes and getting acquainted with over 100 different brands I had never worked with before.
After a year in the Big Apple, Parilli moved to California for an assistant buyer job before taking another leap of faith and fully diving into styling. She received an offer for a styling role with Alix Gropper and hasn’t looked back. I’ve been able to get looped in some great projects. We’ve styled Victoria Justice and Jenna Johnson. We’ve styled for red carpet events, movie premieres like F1, and all of these really great opportunities I got because of her.
When asked about how her time at DePaul has influenced her up to this point, Parilli pointed to her self-confidence and the sense of community she felt during her time as a Blue Demon.
Despite playing different sports, Parilli and Held built a special bond through DePaul’s unique family-like environment.
Even though we played for different teams, we knew each other, all of our teammates knew each other. We’d all hang out outside of games and practice while also cheering each other on every step of the way, Parilli remembered.
While going through the twists and turns of their respective professions, Held and Parilli reconnected to begin their collaboration. The two former DePaul athletes are both just chasing their dreams and supporting each other while doing it.
