Adriana Mendiola is the designer of ring girl outfits that continuously steal the show. This weekend, she’s outfitting the models for Jake Paul versus Anthony Joshua on Netflix. She’s also dressing Carla Jade for her Misfits title fight. Before that, she made the notorious outfits for Sydney Thomas and Lexi Williams at the Paul versus Mike Tyson event – and they went viral. The work has turned her into someone boxing promoters can’t ignore.
The Designer Behind the Ring Girls: Inside Adriana Mendiola’s Fashion Vision
She grew up watching her family work. “I’m originally from Salina, Kansas, and come from a family of women—my mother, sister, and relatives—who are seamstresses and designers. Watching them create taught me resilience, discipline, and pride in craftsmanship,” she explained, starting designing at merely seven years old.
“I began creating designs at around 7 years old. Fashion became my way of leading and expressing myself. That foundation, combined with my experience as a technical designer for major activewear and lingerie brands, has given me a deep understanding of construction and impeccable fit… My love of performance-driven fashion, paired with training in boxing and Muay Thai with my brother, pushed me to carve my own lane and develop a signature that is bold, feminine, and unmistakable.
Adriana Mendiola: The Designer Changing Boxing’s Visual Game
Mendiola worked as a technical designer for major activewear and lingerie brands. That experience taught her fit and construction in ways most fashion designers never learn. But she wanted something different. “I design for presence—pieces that command a room, amplify confidence, and hold their own on the world’s biggest stages,” she explained.
The ring girl work clicked because it aligned with how she thinks. She trained in boxing and Muay Thai with her brother. She knows what athletes need. The designs work from all angles on camera in front of millions. They move. They breathe. They don’t fall apart.
When Sydney Thomas and Lexi Williams walked ringside, the internet noticed. Their outfits trended. People talked about the clothes more than some of the actual fights. That feedback matters to her. “It’s incredibly affirming, surreal and humbling. The ring is one of the most visible stages in the world, and knowing my designs consistently become part of the conversation means everything,” she said. “I design with impact in mind—silhouettes that are strong, sexy, and unforgettable—so seeing the looks trend globally and continue to be referenced tells me the work is landing exactly where it’s meant to. It motivates me to keep pushing the visual standard higher.”
The black and red palette from the Tyson fight wasn’t random. “Inspired by Netflix’s visual language, the black and red palette for the Paul–Tyson fight was chosen for its intensity and power. The color combo is high-impact and amplifies the crowd’s energy,” she explained.
For this weekend’s Misfits event, Mendiola took Carla Jade’s fight kit in a different direction. “For Saturday’s Misfits fight, Carla Jade’s kit and ring girl uniform were inspired by her gloves and femme color palette. I wanted to create something that truly lived up to her title, ‘Queen of Misfits’—elevated with rhinestone embellishments and custom embroidery, while remaining fully functional, with elements of performance-driven activewear.”
She’s also worked beyond the ring. She dressed dancers for Summer Walker‘s tour. “I collaborated closely with her stylist. I created the men’s dancers’ silver looks, one of the women’s pink chrome dancers looks, and hand placed thousands of rhinestones on Summer’s final tour look with the help of my team. Seeing everything come together on stage was really rewarding. It felt true to her world,” she said.
Mendiola’s philosophy remains simple: “My overall design aesthetic is sharp, feminine and unapologetically commanding.”
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