Beauty & Wellness Briefing: Inside Glossier’s WNBA Draft glam room

On Monday evening, the next generation of women’s basketball stars took a major step forward in their careers with the 2025 WNBA Draft. The Draft is a big moment not just for college basketball stars going pro but also for the WNBA’s brand partners, which include a growing cohort of major fashion and beauty players. 

Glossier, which first began its partnership with the WNBA in 2020, hosted a glam room at New York City’s Equinox Hotel ahead of Monday evening’s orange carpet event. Along with WNBA hair-care partner Mielle, the glam room hosted roughly a dozen WNBA draft prospects to have their glam done by professional makeup artists and hairstylists. But Glossier has far more competition for capturing the burgeoning intersection between beauty and women’s sports than it did five years ago. 

“The sponsorship has evolved into a full-fledged partnership featuring players cast in multiple product campaigns over the years, courtside signage, gifting products to players, hosting press and influencers at WNBA games, being the beauty partner of the 2024 and 2025 WNBA draft including Caitlin Clark’s look last year as well as being the first official beauty partner of the U.S. women’s national basketball team when they participated in the 2024 Olympics,” said Glossier CMO Kleo Mack. “Glossier celebrates beauty in real life, and our ethos of ‘You Look Good’ champions women in sports.” 

Since Glossier first worked with the WNBA on its 2020 Body Hero campaign, numerous beauty brands have forged partnerships with female athletes and teams, ranging from Neutrogena’s ambassadorship with track star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone to L’Oréal’s campaign with Olympic gymnast Suni Lee. 

“I love that brands are finding athletic women that aren’t necessarily just conventional models, but finding ways that women in society can relate to beauty, to athleticism, and have [sports] be a connecting piece,” said makeup artist Derrick Bernard.

The WNBA’s growing viewership has made it especially attractive to fashion and beauty brands. The league was founded in 1996 and achieved its highest viewership ever at the end of the 2024 season, raking in 54 million unique viewers across ABC, CBS, ESPN, ESPN2, ION and NBA TV. The 2024 WNBA Draft garnered 2.45 million viewers on ESPN, making it the most-watched WNBA Draft ever and marking a 307% increase in viewership over 2023’s Draft.

Hours ahead of Monday’s Draft, the Coach brand announced a multi-year partnership with the WNBA. That followed nail polish brand Essie announcing its partnership with the New York Liberty on Thursday by unveiling a gel manicure on the Liberty’s viral mascot, Ellie the Elephant. 

A new generation of players is a major part of the appeal. 2024’s top draft pick, Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever, was the first draft pick in the NBA or WNBA to wear Prada. Her all-white Prada look on the orange carpet during the 2024 WNBA Draft generated $581,000 in media impact value, according to consumer insights firm Launchmetrics.  

“The attention that we’re getting is awesome. You’ve got to credit the players before us, because the amazing players that have come before have done such a great job creating opportunity for all of us. We’re just trying to continue it,” said Sarah Ashlee Barker, the Alabama player who was drafted No. 9 to the Los Angeles Sparks.

UConn’s Paige Bueckers, who was not in attendance at the Glossier glam room, became 2025’s No. 1 draft pick when she was selected to join the Dallas Wings on Monday. In February, she appeared in a Cerave campaign, adding the skin-care brand to her partners which include Nike and Gatorade. She wore a bespoke Coach suit and bag to Monday’s orange carpet.

French player Dominique Malonga, who helped France win a silver medal in women’s basketball at the Paris Olympics, was picked No. 2 by the Seattle Storm. At the Glossier glam room, she said she was excited to see women’s basketball finding a broader audience. 

“We were complaining about female basketball not being watched enough, so it’s great [that people are paying attention now]. You just have to surf the wave and keep pushing people to keep watching women’s basketball,” said Malonga. “It’s nice to have brands like this that support us through this. Sometimes it’s hard to be feminine on the court and keep your feminine spirit.”

The growing interest and sponsorship in the WNBA is a long-time coming. Makeup artist Jennifer Fleming said she first worked with athletes at the WNBA Draft in 2010, well before today’s major WNBA brand partners like Glossier and Skims even existed. 

“We’re just honored to be a part of it. All these players have worked so hard to get to this moment,” said Fleming. “The WNBA started in 1996, I remember that. It’s iconic that they’re still around and even bigger than ever.”

Executive moves: 

• Nathalie Berger-Duquene has been named the next CEO of Creed. Kering Beauté announced she will step into the top role at the luxury fragrance house, which Kering acquired in 2023 for a reported $3.8 billion, on May 6. Berger-Duquene’s experience includes stints at Estée Lauder brands Tom Ford and Kilian.

News to know:

• The Food and Drug Administration reverses course on back-to-office mandates as essential staff members threaten to resign. The reversal comes after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Department of Government Efficiency terminated thousands of FDA employees in early April. 

• Merit enters the French market. The clean beauty brand’s full range will be available to French consumers through its DTC channels. The brand also expanded into the U.K. in February with its arrival at Sephora U.K.

• Dozens of female founders have called upon President Trump to reverse the steep tariffs on goods from the likes of China and E.U. countries. In an open letter published on Substack, wine entrepreneur Allison Luvera outlined the impacts of the new tariffs on small businesses. Signatories included Cyndi Ramirez-Fulton, founder of Chillhouse; Yanghee Paik, founder of Rael; and Emily Doyle and Mei Kwok, founders of Dune Suncare.    

Stat of the week:

Piper Sandler’s Spring 2025 Taking Stock With Teens Survey found fragrance to be the fastest-growing beauty category in teens’ spending, with 22% growth year-over-year. The survey found teens’ core beauty wallet reached the highest level ever in the biannual survey, at $374, a 10% increase year-over-year. 

In the headlines: 

Welcome to the future of appearance. How many ribs would you break for a smaller waist? Beige is the color of money. How the Maga beauty look swept America. 

Listen in: 

Esteemed beauty marketer Michelle Miller knows a thing or two about a successful TikTok strategy. The longtime beauty CMO joins the Glossy podcast to discuss the future of TikTok and more.

Need a Glossy recap? 

How the ‘de minimis’ rollback will upend TikTok Shop’s product assortment, increase opportunity for prestige brands. Wellness brands are winning on TikTok Shop, for now. Inside Yves Saint Laurent’s new fragrance strategy. How brands can win big during the Sephora Savings Event.