On Tuesday, Annette Echikunwoke of the U.S. track and field team won a silver medal in the women’s hammer throw. However, when she talked to Andscape in late July, she had barely begun to pack for her trip to Paris, which was only 24 hours away.
The first-time Olympian just made history as the first American woman to medal in the hammer throw. Below, she walks Andscape through her packing process while detailing her style on and off the track.
What’s the first thing you put in your suitcase?
I’m an over-packer, but I’m limited to my carry-on in terms of fashion clothes. They want us to wear the actual gear they give us, and then, if we’re outside of the village, they want us to wear civilian clothes so as not to be harassed by people on the street. So I have to pack for that, but I probably won’t leave the village much before I compete.
Tell me about your civilian clothes. What are you bringing?
Funnily enough, I took a pause from shopping for three months. I just felt in my spirit that I should take three months because I impulse-shop. It was like a fast. I feel like the Lord was telling me [not to shop for]three months. The timing was perfect because I was ordering all this stuff for Paris.
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Where did you order from?
I ordered from Dissh, Citizens of Humanity, and I ordered some new shoes, a pair of Salomon trail shoes. So, just a couple of things, but nice basics to keep it pretty simple with nice accessories. Oh, and my hair — I dyed it blonde.
What do you like to wear on the track?
I like to keep it pretty simple when I compete. It used to be that I would like to be fully covered. I didn’t want my skin exposed. Anything to not have to think about how I look too much. Obviously, I want to look nice and put together but not too much thinking. Now I wear a little bit more cropped tops, I usually wear all black because I’m not sponsored at the moment.
How would you describe your style off the track?
I like to have an effortlessly chic look, and I know that’s a term thrown around all the time, but I have a pretty athletic body frame, as you can imagine. I’m taller and very muscular. I don’t want to do too much, not in an ‘oh, I don’t want to offend anyone with how I dress,’ but I feel like it looks best on me. It presents my body and myself in a way that’s authentic to me but also feels comfortable.
Right now, I’m wearing a pair of pants my mom calls ‘whatsupian.’ I’m always like, ‘What? You’re just making up words.’ The pants are flared out, wide-leg, and very fluid, but they fit what I’m going for — chic and simple. That’s how I would describe my aesthetic.
How are you taking care of your skin?
I’ve narrowed down my skin care routine pretty well, honestly. In the mornings I use either the Korres Greek Yoghurt face wash or a La Roche Posay cleanser. Right now I’m using the La Roche Posay. I’ll dry my face with a paper towel and then use rosewater and glycerin spray from Heritage. Then, I’ll do a lumination serum from my esthetician. I have a Vitamin C serum from YesStyle but it’s a Japanese brand I don’t know how to say.
Then, I use L’occitane’s oil. I love their oil because I want to put oil on my face, but I have combination/oily skin, and it’s like it breaks me out. As much as I want to glow, that glow will last two seconds until it breaks me out, but their Immortelle Overnight Reset Oil-in-Serum works perfectly with my skin. It’s a hybrid of oil and water hydration. Then I put on my moisturizer from Belif called Aqua Bomb. I have a bunch of sunscreens that I layer most of the time. I use my aesthetician’s sunscreen or Naturium’s sunscreen — which I love. That one’s my favorite at the moment — or I use the Round Lab’s sunscreen. Those are my three in rotation at the moment.
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And what are you doing to your skin at night?
I wash my face again with La Roche Posay. Sometimes, I’ll use a glycolic toner — especially if I wear makeup, which I do maybe once a week — so either the Pixi Toner or The Ordinary’s toner. Then I’ll spray my face with rosewater and put on [my prescribed retinol]Tretinoin. I was using a retinol for five years from my esthetician, and I was, like, you know what, I’m going to take it a step up. I just started using it in November or December. I’ve been loving that. I thought my skin would adjust to it because I’d been using retinol for so long, but it took some months [for my skin]to adjust. I was like, oh, I can [apply the cream], not back-to-back, but I think, like Week 2, I was like, oh, I can do it every day now, no. But now, after five months, my skin can tolerate the Tretinoin every night. I lock everything in with that L’occitane oil.
How did where you’re from influence your style?
I’m originally from Columbus, Ohio, but my family’s Nigerian and right now, I live in Cincinnati, Ohio. Ohio isn’t super fashion-forward, honestly. My style is a conglomerate of things, like artists I used to watch growing up. I’ve always been drawn to fashion. My mom was a big proponent of how I dressed in terms of presenting myself well. She was, like, people will see you and how you present yourself. It’s very important to present yourself well. I’ve always had that in my mind.
I do love Nigerian clothing. My mom, when I was younger and even now, will get things tailored for me. She asked me the other day if I wanted some stuff for the Olympics. But my mom’s telling me that I should be mindful of how I present myself is a huge factor and why I’ve been drawn to fashion and style for a long time. As my budget adjusts as I get older, I have more capacity to try new styles. I feel like it’s constantly adjusting, but it’s good.
What was the last thing you bought that you were excited about?
The first thing I bought when I broke my fast from shopping, and I had been eyeing them for like a good month and a half. Kwame Adusei, a Ghanaian designer out of Los Angeles, and I love his pants. The kapli pants are exactly the ‘whatsupian’ style my mom would describe, and I was like oh, I’m going to get these for Paris. The first thing I ordered, and unfortunately, the pants will be delivered the day after I leave for Paris. It’s so disappointing.
So that’s that but another piece I’m really excited about is from a brand called Chimi. It’s more of an eyewear brand, but they also sell clothing. It’s a turtleneck long black dress. It’s giving Morticia Addams kind of vibes.
Are there any athletes you think have really good style?
You know whose style I like? Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He’s the most stylish basketball player. His style is very concrete but fluid in a sense but I really like his pants, and the way he knows his proportions. Every time he walks out, I’m like, yes, this is good, even if it’s just a monochrome ’fit.
Anyone else?
This is a cliché answer, but Rihanna. She’s playful with her style. She intermixes genres well in such an effortless, easy way. I want to do that. [Influencer Alani Noelle] Wuzg00d is really fun, too. She pushes boundaries in the way she puts things together. It’s very colorful. I feel like sometimes I can do a better job with adding color. It’s very easy to do the black.
What’s your plane movie?
I will mainly be learning how to use a camera, so I bought an actual camera to record moments and take pictures.
I took a class in college on how to use cameras, and I even did a project where you could decide the medium you wanted to use. I was like, OK, let me take photos of my friends. Before I knew I was going to be an athlete, I thought I was going to be a photographer, so I’ll be tinkering with the camera most of the flight.
Last question, how many suitcases are you taking?
I’m trying to limit it so I can make sure I have allotted for any of the stuff I get. I’m taking a carry-on, and it might be a big carry-on, so hopefully, it counts as a carry-on. I’m taking the civilian clothes, a bag for athletic wear, and my Pelican, which has all my hammers for throwing.
Channing Hargrove is a senior writer at Andscape covering fashion. That’s easier than admitting how strongly she identifies with the lyrics “Single Black female addicted to retail.”
