In her latest partnership with Nike, designer Martine Rose dissolves the boundaries of men and women’s football styling with gender-free tailored pieces that evolve player suiting and expand the culture of sport for the next generation.
Martine Rose and Nike have worked together on football-centric pieces in the past, most notably the ‘Lost Lionesses’ shirt from 2021, but now they’re back together for a wider collection that elevates the look of the elite women’s game and closes the gender gap in considered, crafted tailoring for women’s sport.
“When a woman wears a suit, it expresses strength, resilience and beauty,” says Martine. “I want women to feel powerful in their suits like men do. More than that, although I’m using women to tell the story, there’s no gender attached to the suit. Anyone can wear it. 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.”
The Nike x Martine Rose Collection features a player’s suit jacket, trouser, trench and shirt; accessories, including stockings, gloves and sunglasses; and the latest iteration of the Nike x Martine Rose Shox Mule MR 4. The shoe’s eye-catching blue and purple colorway nods to the famously vibrant goalkeeper jerseys of the 1990s, while the silhouette acts as a talisman for equity in football, the ever-expanding culture of sport and a signal of what’s to come from Nike and Martine later in the year.
Alongside the new pieces in the collection will be a latest iteration of the Nike x Martine Rose Shox Mule MR 4. The shoe’s eye-catching blue and purple colourway nods to the famously vibrant goalkeeper jerseys of the 1990s, while the silhouette acts as a talisman for equity in football, the ever-expanding culture of sport and a signal of what’s to come from Nike and Martine later in the year.
“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,” said Megan Rapinoe, Nike athlete and United States Women’s National Team member. “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 just dope.”
The collection will be available exclusively on Martine-Rose.com from 25 July and on SNKRS and at select specialty stores from 27 July.
