Nike and Martine Rose’s new genderless tailoring will debut during Women’s World Cup

Nike has tapped designer Martine Rose for a third collaboration, this time featuring genderless tailoring and footwear, inspired by the world’s leading footballers. The sportswear brand is banking on the designs showing up off-field during the Women’s World Cup in July.

By Lucy Maguire

July 3, 2023

Nike and Martine Roses new genderless tailoring will debut during Womens World Cup

Photo: Courtesy of Nike

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Never mind the football. Sports giant Nike and menswear designer Martine Rose are launching a collection of genderless tailoring that they hope will be worn off the field by players in the Fifa Women’s World Cup.

While many sports brands, from Adidas to Lululemon are investing in women’s performance wear, this Nike collaboration is the first to meaningfully serve women’s athletes in their formal off-pitch moments. The aim is to elevate the look of elite women’s football players and “close the gender gap in considered, crafted tailoring for women’s sport”, the company says. The pioneering collection will be available exclusively on Martine-Rose.com from 25 July, five days after the opening day of the World Cup in Australia, and on Nike.com, the Snkrs app and at selected Nike stores from 27 July.

The collection includes a suit, trench and shirt, plus accessories including socks, gloves and sunglasses. “Although I’m using women to tell the story, there’s no gender attached to the suit,” says Martine Rose. “Anyone can wear it.”

Also featured in the drop is the latest iteration of the viral Nike x Martine Rose Shox Mule MR 4 shoe in a new blue and purple colourway inspired by goalkeeper jerseys of the 1990s.

Rose’s work has long been inspired by British football culture. Reimagined football jerseys re-appear throughout her collections, which also riff heavily on the culture of football fandom (long before blokecore was coined). And this isn’t the first time Nike has called upon the designer around a tournament. In 2021, during the Euro 2020 men’s tournament, Rose reinvented the England football team jersey for Nike in a project named “The Lost Lionesses”. The genderless jersey was inspired by England’s 1971 women’s football team, who despite opposition from critics, flew to Mexico City to play a tournament.

Last summer, during the women’s Euros, Nike and Rose launched the Nike Shox MR4 shoe, with a campaign championing the “unsung heroes” of British football. The billboards highlighted talent such as Kat Craig, a human rights lawyer who supports sexual abuse victims in football, and Hope Powell, England’s first female and black football manager.

Tailoring: It’s time for women

Sports stars are increasingly aligning with fashion to communicate their personalities off the pitch. Brands making luxury tailoring have historically focused on men’s football for linkups, harnessing the global attention on football stars before a game or during press conferences. Paris Saint Germain is partnered with Dior Men’s, Manchester City is outfitted by Dsquared2, while AC Milan has appointed Off-White as its “style and culture curator”. Nike hopes the new collaboration with Martine Rose will “evolve player suiting”.

Veteran football star Megan Rapinoe, who is hoping to recover fully from injury in time to play for the US team, approves. “I love the mash-up that sports and fashion and culture has become, and as an athlete, I’ve always wanted what we wear to stand for more,” she says. “I think Martine, as a designer inspired by sports culture, is able to pull so much meaning into her work, and for her to be able to express herself through this moment that is so special to us is really cool — and obviously the pieces are dope.”

Rose’s pieces, though sold as menswear, have long been appreciated by all genders. “When a woman wears a suit, it expresses strength, resilience and beauty,” she says. “I want women to feel powerful in their suits like men do… I hope one day we’re not talking about gender in sport and are just talking about the sport. Once everything is stripped back, it’s just the game that’s left.”

Further initiatives by Nike are planned for later this year to develop the genderless concept. Supporters of women’s football say this summer’s high-profile World Cup could mark a major turning point for women’s sport worldwide.