6 September 2023 |
From investing in professional athletes to supporting everyday movement, the brand wants to inspire women and girls.
In the past decade wellness has gone from buzz word to maligned catch-all for everything from supplements to spa treatments to trendy social media workouts. The definition, traditionally, has been narrow and exclusive but Nike is aiming to change that. The brand envisions a more inclusive and stylish future where women and girls are supported in however they choose to move. And nowhere was that more evident than at this year’s Women’s World Cup, which was co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand.
Soccer in America hasn’t traditionally been a popular sport to watch but with the global success of the United States Women’s National Team, that’s changing. While the reigning two-time champions were unfortunately knocked out early, the impact that they’ve had domestically is reflective of a slow but steady increased interest in women’s football worldwide.
The 2023 Women’s World Cup set viewership records across the world, with the final between England versus Spain viewed by nearly 12 million BBC watchers, which was more than the men’s Wimbledon final. In Australia, the fans turned out in droves for their home team, affectionately known as the Matildas, in their unprecedented run up to the semi-finals. It seemed like the entire country stopped in their tracks to root for the team, as plazas and pubs across the country filled with viewing parties, while at the match itself, the stadium shook with energy at every goal attempt.
“When you think about the future of women’s sports and those viewership numbers, it can influence kids, especially girls who fall out of or don’t start athletics to dream a little. It’ll change the world for women and everyone because we know lives are better with sports in it,” says Heidi O’Neill, Nike’s President of Consumer, Product and Brand.
That desire to inspire women and girls has translated most significantly into the launch of Nike Well Collective. The initiative is based on five pillars: movement, mindfulness, nutrition, rest and connection. Featuring experts across fitness, medicine, science, and academics, the new platform will combine workout classes on running, dance, stretching, and more as well as other instructional content geared towards a holistic view on wellness. The brand will also be transforming their Nike Live stores into Nike Well Collective stores with the purpose of creating a community space that combines product and events with the five pillars in mind.
Beyond on a consumer level, this guiding ethos is also reflected in the brand’s big investment for all of their teams at the Women’s World Cup. Working with the athletes, Nike created custom base camps based on each country’s needs. On the practical end there are boot fitting services as well as various recovery services ranging from cryotherapy to on-call massages to compression sleeves and infrared beds. But rest involves not just physical but also mental relaxation and to that end the brand offered everything from games to nail art to activities intended to distract well-meaning friends and family who flew out in support of their athletes.
Being that it’s Nike the practical bits like jerseys, shorts, and footwear were equally as custom as the teams’ home bases. “The women’s football kits are our most sustainable and innovative to date. So much has gone into it, to perfect the fit for her. We listened to the voice of the athlete and what she told us in terms of how to make it better,” says Tania Flynn, VP of Women’s Apparel Product Design.
The two year process covered everything from the cut of the shorts, which were tailored to accommodate muscular legs to the design of the shirts, which featured a contrasting pop of color at the neck. The latter, while seemingly decorative, also had a functional purpose. “Some players wear makeup when they play and when they pull the jersey over their head, it’ll smear onto the fabric. We added the banded collar because of that,” says Flynn.
Phantom Luna, the brand’s latest soccer cleats, also reflected discussions with the players. “Women disproportionately have more ACL injuries than men, which rotational traction can contribute. So we took that insight and thought about how we could design a boot that reduced that, helping them stay in the game [longterm],” explains O’Neill. Add to that a knit upper meant to grip the foot to aid in precise movements and you have the makings of their most innovative shoe to date.
Innovation isn’t limited solely to products geared towards professional athletes. Their Athlete Think Tank, a collective of influential voices which include Olympic gold medalist Chloe Kim, Peloton instructor Tunde Oyeneyin, among others, was also instrumental in getting the brand’s One Leak Protection: Period shorts, into stores. Based on their feedback, the brand is constantly trying to refine their approach to design and function.
While the five pillars don’t explicitly address style explicitly, it’s an inherent part of Nike Women’s ethos as well. “It’s one of the universal truths, right? For women, whether we’re talking about our performance athletes that are on the pitch, on the court, or everyday athletes, everybody demands style. It’s all about self-expression,” says O’Neill. She gestures towards a rack of Martine Rose designed suits and Shox sneakers behind her, made especially for the U.S. women’s team. Slick, genderless, and cool, they sold briskly.
The desirable quality of these designs aren’t lost on the players either. “Wearing this suit to walk out on the field feels like the culmination of my whole career — to elevate the women’s team look, to show something unexpected, and to continue to push boundaries in what it means to be an elite female athlete,” said Megan Rapinoe, in the press release.
Rose’s work is reflective of the effort to include designers beloved by the fashion obsessed as Nike also collaborated with Yoon Ahn, one of the creative minds behind AMBUSH. Their partnership has been on-going, with prior collections that reflect Ahn’s unique melding of sports with her niche interests. The most current release reflects the brand’s commitment to expand the definition of soccer style in a way that’s approachable yet buzz worth. And so the current Nite Sport campaign is a reimagining of the beloved nineties movie, The Craft, “I’m a huge fan of the nineties and 2000 aesthetics. It’s a touch point as that era produced a lot [films] about girl empowerment,” she says. For Ahn, sampling and remixing factor heavily in her approach to design. “I always think, how can I bring a sports element into daily wear but also make it more fashion? I want people who don’t play sports to relate to it, own it, and wear it.”
O’Neill echoes Ahn’s expansive, inclusive worldview, noting that everything they’ve done for the Women’s World Cup is indicative of Nike’s vision going forward. “People want us to be their hype person, trainer, coach, and personal shopper. I’m inspired by them and they impact what we do, over the years and into the future.”
