Injuries may have benched Denver Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony for several games the past couple of months, but it’s given us a chance to check out his new upscale image.

Gone are the braids, untucked shirts and baggy jackets of seasons past. Since teaming up with New York-based stylist Khalilah Williams-Webb last September, Anthony has gone preppy-cool with sharp blazers (Plaid! Tweed! Worn with a sweater and tie!) and stylish suits (complete with pocket square!).

We also love the casual cool vibe he’s been rocking — a dressed up top half (think tweed blazer and tie) paired with a lower-key bottom half (like dark denim and sneakers).

“He’s been in the league for about five years now, and I think he just felt it was time to change his look,” says Williams-Webb, who, like Anthony, hails from Baltimore. “When I was introduced to him, I showed him the look I was going for and he loved it.”

Willams-Webb selects the styles and fabrics, and then has the majority of Anthony’s clothes custom-made.

“He does love Gucci, though,” she says. “Gucci is one of his favorites. It’s kind of hard to find designers with clothes he can fit into, but I plan to work with high-end designers like Ralph Lauren in the future.”

If you check out what Anthony has been wearing on the bench the past couple games, you’ll notice he’s partial to donning a tie and pocket square — most courtesy of designer Tom Ford, Williams-Webb says.

“He’s very, very adamant about wearing ties and having a pocket square with his jacket,” she says. “It was very surprising to me. He loves his ties. The next step is trying to get him in a bow tie, but that’s the one resistance I’m getting from him.”

Williams-Webb didn’t want to totally change his image.

“I wanted him to be comfortable, but also fun and young. That’s why the preppy look works so well with him. He has the elements of being dressed up for the game, but he can still have his sneakers on.”

Dressing athletes is a specialty for Williams-Webb, whose clients also include Memphis Grizzlies small forward Rudy Gay and Buffalo Bills players Dante Whitner and James Hardy. She also dresses Kevin Liles, executive vice president of Warner Music Group, and has styled music video shoots.

“It’s not really harder to style athletes, but you do have to be aware of what they can and can’t wear,” she says. “Football players have necks 10 sizes bigger than everyone else. It’s just a matter of learning people’s body types and personalities and what they look good in and what they don’t.”

Williams-Webb says she visits Anthony once a month to put together looks for the coming month, and to go over any special events, like photo shoots, he needs to dress for.

“He’s very, very into fashion. He was in D.C. last weekend and called me three times asking me about a pair of sneakers he saw when he was there. (She had already snagged them for him.) I don’t think he wasn’t into fashion before, it was just a different style. I think now he’s more into high fashion. He went to the Baby Phat show at Fashion Week in September.”

And did she have anything to do with the new, cropped hair he debuted a few months ago?

“I just think it kind of happened one day,” Williams-Webb says. “He always said, ‘I’ll never cut it, I’ll never cut it.’ And then one day he just cut his hair. We love it. It looks really great. It’s a fresh new look for him.”

Anthony on his sense of style

Nuggets reporter Chris Tomasson caught up with Carmelo Anthony on Tuesday, before the Nuggets game against the Grizzlies in Memphis, to find out about his new style.

Where do you buy your stuff?

Different places. Some of them tailor made. Kind of hard for me to just go into a store and buy.

What brands do you wear?

Different people. I like to try different designers.

Do you have favorite designers?

I wear a lot of Gucci and Louis Vuitton. Of course Jordan (Brand). (Anthony has an endorsement deal with Jordan Brand, a division of Nike.)

Does Jordan Brand make stuff other than sportswear?

Yeah. Some jackets they make for me when I sit on the bench ... They make polo shirts. Button-down shirts.

How would you describe your style?

Elegant.

Have you gotten a lot of compliments about how you’ve been looking on the bench?

No, you’re the first one.

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