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Just under two weeks ago, the British fashion brand Aligne introduced a capsule collection co-designed with English soccer (or, football) player Lucy Bronze. Bronze has 905,000 followers on Instagram. She was already a part of Aligne’s world, having starred in its Spring 2024 campaign.
“It’s really about that representation — of what I think fashion brands should be putting out there and [who they should be] supporting as role models, and of what femininity is,” said Ginny Seymour, Aligne’s CEO, regarding why Bronze, and female athletes in general, make such good brand spokespeople.
Supporting women’s soccer, it turns out, is simply good business.
According to an August 2025 report by Parity, a sports marketing and sponsorship platform focused on professional female athletes, more than one in four fans of women’s soccer has made a purchase because of a brand’s sponsorship of the sport, making them 58% more likely to do so than fans of other sports. Further, 60% of women’s soccer fans felt brands were still not investing enough in supporting women’s sports.
To that end, Seymour has been struck by the reception to the partnership with Bronze. The collection includes 18 pieces, including a grey bomber, of-the-moment rugby tops, and a coordinating pinstriped set. “The positive sentiment is something I’ve never seen before — it actually means to women that we’re doing this,” she said, pointing to the number of TikToks made about the collab. “When we work with Lucy, [we see] some of our most engaged posts and emails — and we received [a large] amount of emails to our customer service last week, of people writing us these notes about how much [this collaboration] means to them,” Seymour said. For Aligne, targeting women’s soccer fans, through Bronze, is a key business objective, she said.
Aligne partnered with Bronze after Seymour was struck by her dynamism on the pitch. That collaboration, in turn, caught the attention of Gotham FC — New York/New Jersey’s National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) team — which then reached out to Aligne. Now, Aligne is the first official style partner of the team — its signage can be seen at Sports Illustrated Stadium. “Any style moments [the players have] we try to incorporate Aligne into the conversation: their kit launches, their tunnel walks. If players have speaking engagements, making sure they have access to clothes that make them feel confident,” Seymour said of the partnership.
Over in Kansas City, Nuuly sponsors the KC Current, the top-ranked team in the NWSL. It is in its second year of the partnership. “The women [soccer players] in the U.S. have been at the forefront of women’s sports in a lot of ways,” said Kim Gallagher, Nuuly’s executive director of marketing and customer success, noting that soccer has been generating a lot of buzz of late.
The partnership made sense to Gallagher for a number of reasons. At the time the Current reached out to Nuuly, Nuuly’s team was following the rapidly growing interest in the NWSL, which is only 12 years old. Furthermore, Kansas City is a second home of sorts to the brand; it recently opened a fulfillment center there, and its team visits frequently. Additionally, Gallagher pointed out, the KC Current’s stadium, CPKC Stadium, was the first stadium — not just in soccer, but across sports — to be purpose-built for women. “That really resonated with us. … It was a really big and groundbreaking thing. Women have never been able to play in a stadium where they weren’t second fiddle to whatever men’s team played there, as well,” she said.
Like Aligne and Gotham, Nuuly’s logo can be seen at the stadium. It also sponsors the team’s match-day arrivals, which are akin to a tunnel walk for the WNBA. “Across the whole sports world, I feel like match day, or game day, arrivals have become such a key part of the event. We felt like it was a great fit because we offer everything from athletic gear to special occasion wear. So, in terms of the players coming to the game, they can really embrace their own personal style, which is very key to the Nuuly mission of ‘getting dressed fun,'” Gallagher said. It has partnered with the team on community events for fans, as well as events with local nonprofits the team supports.
Anthropologie, which, like Nuuly, is part of the URBN portfolio of brands, is a sponsor of Angel City FC, Los Angeles’s NWSL team. It began the three-year partnership in March. Notably, investors in the team include Billie Jean King, Sophia Bush, Becky G and Serena Williams. “Angel City FC is redefining what it means to lead in women’s sports. Their mission-driven approach, which is rooted in equity and innovation, mirrors our own,” Anthropologie CMO Barbra Sainsurin said.
Anthropologie is activating its partnership both on and off the field. For example, it sponsors the team’s SOAR internship program, with Anthropologie executives donating their time to mentor high school students. Players are offered in-store shopping experiences at Anthropologie, plus Anthropologie is part of social media content and in-stadium and on-field branding, plus giveaways at home games. Anthropologie is also the presenting partner of player arrivals at all 2025 home games. It aims to spotlight the players’ style as they walk through a branded tunnel — the brand has been featured in content by @leaguefits, which posts about athlete’s outfits and has 1 million followers.
Whether it’s its U.K. business, where Bronze’s fans are excited to see her star in its campaigns, or its growing U.S. business, where new customers might discover the brand through Gotham FC, Aligne is bullish on female athletes as brand ambassadors. “It’s about what female athletes represent, … in terms of the definition of femininity. When you’re thinking about the face of your campaigns, I think you have to be really thoughtful,” Seymour said. “And right now, there’s nothing more powerful or more inspiring than a female athlete.”
Week in review
On social
On TikTok, the hottest purchase of the week is … a rock. It started on September 14, when Phoebe Adams posted a video showing her boyfriend Dan DiLiberto (the two share a TikTok account under the name @phoebeanddan, where they have over 300,000 followers) her new rock from Anthropologie, which she called the hottest new home decor item and said it was on sale for $150. Since then, Adams has posted videos showing the “expensive” rock to both her own mother and DiLiberto’s mother. Soon enough, Anthropologie seized the moment — creating in-store displays of, you guessed it, (decorative) rocks. “The rock trend started with a fan, a sense of humor and a moment of cultural magic—and we knew we had to meet it with the same spirit,” said Anthropologie CMO Barbra Sainsurin. “At Anthropologie, we believe in showing up where our community is, with creativity that feels authentic. This moment proved what’s possible when you move fast and lean into the unexpected with intention and heart.”
It’s been a good year for Anthropologie on social — see Glossy’s earlier coverage of its viral Tobie dress. Adams’s original video has over 11 million views and 1.5 million likes, and has spurred an additional 250 pieces of content made by other TikTokers, either pranking people in their own lives or otherwise referencing the Anthropologie rock. “As the trend gained momentum, our social team recognized the opportunity and quickly reached out to Phoebe,” Sainsurin said. The “Anthropologie Rock Collection” has generated an estimated 135 million impressions across all content.
Newness
Last week, Outdoor Voices debuted its first drop since its July relaunch, with founder Ty Haney back at the helm. Like its first relaunch collection, the brand is taking a less direct approach to the activewear space with an equestrian collection that includes, alongside traditional riding pants, a pair of jeans — the $168 Cowgirl Jean. Of the pants, Haney said, “We’re building the No. 1 recreation brand and getting the world moving — with foundational, technical product to move and sweat in, as well as activity-specific capsules designed for real expertise. … The OV Equestrian collection is our first for horse girls. Our hero styles, designed for real riders, are the Ride Pant, which has already sold out in plaid, and the Cowgirl Jean. With this collection, we made worlds collide between English and Western disciplines, with the intent to get all horse girls Doing Things.”
Dorsey, the cool-girl’s lab-grown diamond brand, introduces a moissanite collection today. Of the latest lab-grown stone to join its repertoire, founder and CEO Meg Strachan said, “Moissanite deserves its own moment — it’s a stone our customer has been asking for, and it completes Dorsey’s repertoire of lab-grown stones alongside diamonds, sapphires, emeralds and more. It’s beautiful and versatile, letting us explore unusual colors and cuts while giving her more ways to wear and invest in her jewelry.” The collection includes Dorsey favorites like the brand’s Lucien earrings, as well as colorful new options like a blue moissanite rivière necklace.
Pop-up of the week
Dr. Diamond’s Metacine, the beauty brand founded by Beverly Hills plastic surgeon to the stars Dr. Jason Diamond, has released its fifth product: the $300 HYDR/O Bioactive Hydrolipid Barrier Moisturizer. And timed to the occasion, it’s hosting its first New York City pop-up. At the Soho space (422 West Broadway), which is open to the public between September 26-30, guests will receive samples of the new launch, and three a day will win a full size of the luxe product.
“When we launched Dr. Diamond’s Metacine in May 2023, we started purely as a DTC brand. Our going to retail was fast-tracked with opportunities to work with Moda Operandi that August, and then Goop that October — both within the first six months. The company’s home is Beverly Hills, where The Diamond Face Institute, led by Dr. Jason B. Diamond, has been part of city’s framework for over 20 years. The clinic has always had a strong relationship with New York City and we felt it was an opportune time to reach more of our East Coast community around the launch of our new product, HYDR/O, our first outside of our InstaFacial Collection. While at our pop-up clinic in the Hamptons this summer, every patient asked for a Metacine presence in the city, so we felt the demand was there to bring the ethos of Metacine to live in Soho this month,” said Tammy Goodarzi, co-founder and chief brand officer.
Collab of the week
Bloomeffects, a skin-care brand that derives its hero ingredient from Dutch tulips, has released its first collab product: the $39 Royal Tulip Hydrating Bi-Phase Tonic, in partnership with influencer Sarah Palmyra. Palmyra spoke about the product, the first she’s put her name on, earlier this month at Glossy Pop NYC. “You get many offers [as] a creator to launch a product. So it’s really important that it makes sense for you. If you follow my page and you find out that I’m launching a milky toner, you’re like, ‘Oh yeah that makes sense,'” she said on stage.
“This has been in the works for quite some time. Our goal with this collaboration is to reach a broader audience and together with our ShopMy network and Sarah’s community, we’re excited to introduce Bloomeffects to a new consumer,” said Kim van Haaster, the brand’s founder and CEO. The collaboration is currently available on bloomeffects.com and will be available at Credo Beauty starting October 1.
Inside our coverage
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Reading list
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