Latest news with #PinkA'ura
Straits Times
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Straits Times
The best player in the WNBA now has her own shoe, and it took a long time
Las Vegas Aces' No. 22 A'ja Wilson poses for a portrait during the team's media day in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 8. PHOTOS: AFP The best player in the WNBA now has her own shoe, and it took a long time NEW YORK – A'ja Wilson, a centre for the Las Vegas Aces, is widely acknowledged as the best player in the WNBA (Women's National Basketball Association). She is something like the league's on-court answer to LeBron James or Michael Jordan. She was the WNBA's rookie of the year in 2018, was named league MVP in 2020 and 2022, and won a championship in 2022. But while she racked up achievement after achievement, one marker of basketball stardom eluded her: the shoe. If Wilson were playing in the NBA, she would have long ago received a signature shoe, the on-court footwear designed with and for a player. More than two dozen NBA players have them. For years, marketeers largely ignored the women's game. But her star has risen alongside that of the league she plays in, and in early 2023, American athletic footwear and apparel corporation Nike finally told her that it planned to create a signature shoe for her. 'I probably cried for a couple of days,' she said. Girls wearing A'ja Wilson's signature shoe, the A'One by Nike, during a basketball clinic at an event to promote the footwear in Columbia, South Carolina, on March 16. PHOTO: NORA WILLIAMS/NYTIMES The plan remained secret, and her fans got angry as Wilson continued to dominate on the court – winning another championship in 2023 – without any news of a shoe. They were appeased last May, however, when Nike announced that it would release her signature shoe, the A'One, this month, alongside an apparel collection. The A'One went on sale last week, with a Pink A'ura version, making Wilson the first black WNBA player to have a signature shoe since 2011. A'ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces in her Nike A'One signature shoes as she practises during the team's first day of training camp in Henderson, Nevada, on April 27. PHOTO: AFP 'It's time for people to have a shoe and see a shoe from someone like me, considering it hasn't been done in a long, long time and it comes from a black female athlete in this world,' she said. 'I'm grateful.' The 28-year-old was speaking in the Saint-Germain-des-Pres neighbourhood of Paris in a hotel suite overlooking Le Bon Marche, the famous department store. Her 1.93m frame was dressed in the athletes' off-court uniform of sweats, with jewellery in her ears and on both sides of her nose. She was there on behalf of Nike. It was men's fashion week, so outside the hotel, photographers waited behind a rope in case celebrities emerged. WNBA players are bigger stars now than they ever were before, arguably with more cultural impact than they had even in the league's heady early days in the 1990s, when players such as Lisa Leslie and Sheryl Swoopes became household names. Last season, interest in the league spiked, buoyed by the popularity of rookies Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. Brands rushed to play catch-up. That resurgence has happened in the shoe industry too, where brands have struggled to monetise products connected to female athletes. The first WNBA player to have a signature shoe made for her was Swoopes in 1995. Nike's Air Swoopes had a tab on the back that made it easy to put on with the long fingernails she liked to sport. Nike created seven editions of it , the most it has made for any female player to date. Women's models make up a small portion of the basketball shoe business, said Mr Matt Powell, a retail analyst with BCE Consulting, in part because many female basketball players prefer wearing men's shoes. 'It costs a tremendous amount of money to develop a shoe and then to build that shoe,' Mr Powell said. 'If sales are not going to be huge, and that is the history of what we've seen, any brand is like, 'How much of an investment can we make here?'' That all started to change when women's college basketball became more popular. Social media allowed players to create personal brands, and in 2021, the NCAA shifted its rules to allow athletes to capitalise on name, image and likeness (NIL) deals, increasing their visibility with commercials and other advertisements. Broadcast channels helped too. ESPN began televising the NCAA women's tournament in 1996 but did not air the championship game on its broadcast network, ABC, until 2023. Reese's Louisiana State team defeated Clark's Iowa for that title, drawing nearly 10 million viewers. The 2024 championship game drew 18.9 million viewers, beating the men's championship game by about 4 million, according to Nielsen. That interest has trickled up into the WNBA as the players moved there too. In July 2023, Nielsen reported a rise in interest generally in women's sports. It also said surveyed viewers were frustrated by a lack of access to live women's sports and a lack of media coverage. 'Sneaker companies are always reactive to the public, and they're always responsive to what they perceive as popular at a given time,' said Dr Brandon Wallace, an assistant professor at Indiana University who has studied the industry. Las Vegas Aces' A'ja Wilson takes a shot during the second quarter against the Dallas Wings during a pre-season game in South Bend, Indiana, on May 2. PHOTO: AFP Wilson has not shied away from discussing the impact of race on why she is sometimes called not marketable. 'It's 100 per cent about race,' she said. 'And it's one of those things where we can sit there and say that all the time, but there's going to always be someone that's like, 'Well, no, you're just making it about race.'' As new opportunities have come her way, Wilson has used them to cultivate her image. She has especially leaned into the fashion world's recent embrace of her; Vogue and GQ, for instance, featured her recently in a spread related to the Met Gala in New York City. A'ja Wilson attends the Time Women of the Year Gala on Feb 25, 2025 in West Hollywood, California. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP When she went on tour in 2024 for her book, Dear Black Girls, her team approached fashion designer Sergio Hudson – who has dressed former first lady Michelle Obama, former vice-president Kamala Harris and singer-songwriters Beyonce, Rihanna and Jennifer Lopez – to outfit her. He knew Wilson was stylish, and he liked the idea of supporting a WNBA player, especially one from his home state, South Carolina. 'When I saw her walk out in the first outfit we made for her, I was like, 'This girl is a star,'' Hudson said. 'At that time, it wasn't how it is now,' he said. 'It wasn't that long ago, but it's like overnight, things have shifted and the WNBA girls are prime celebrities, and everybody wants to dress them.' NYTIMES Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Business Insider
11-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
This new shoe just scored Nike a much-needed win
Investing in women's sports has been a priority for Nike lately, and basketball star A'ja Wilson's new A'One sneaker sold out in under five minutes in Tuesday's online release. It's a project that Wilson said took over two years to come into fruition. As all eyes are on Nike to make good on its promises for a comeback, it's a win for the sports apparel giant. Its decision to use women's sports to reach its goal is "a savvy one" as the WNBA enters the global stage with surging viewership, Rachel Wolff, analyst at BI sister company EMARKETER, said. "The way Nike has approached the launch is also smart: By using limited releases — a rarity for its performance sneakers — the brand has been able to build buzz and increase the product's desirability ahead of its official debut," Wolff said. During the second-quarter fiscal year 2025 earnings call, CEO Elliott Hill shouted out Nike's "gender offense" by tapping some of the WNBA's biggest stars, including Wilson, Sabrina Ionescu, and Caitlin Clark. So far, its investment is showing returns, with high single-digit growth in women's training apparel for the same quarter. However, the comeback is far from complete. Last quarter's revenues were $11.3 billion, down 9% from the previous year on a reported basis. Repairing relationships with its retail partners, like Foot Locker and Dick's Sporting Goods, is another smart play by Nike after a "disastrous" direct-to-consumer strategy that started in 2018, Wolff said. Checks conducted by BMO Capital Markets analysts found that the first online drop of the A'One in the Pink A'ura color way had a "very limited supply," with key retailers selling out on Thursday. The OG Pearl iteration is set to release on May 15. "While scale is obviously necessary to move any Nike needle (particularly as Nike reduces reliance on classics), we see these data points as encouraging," analyst Simeon Siegel said in a Friday note on Nike's latest sneaker launches. It's Wilson's first signature shoe with Nike. She appeared in the company's viral "So Win" Super Bowl commercial featuring only female athletes in February. A clip of her spinning a basketball on one nail was particularly popular. "We designed the Nike A'One so that when girls lace up, they channel A'ja's encouragement through her footwear, knowing they can be like her one day," Ben Nethongkome, lead designer for the A'One footwear, said in a statement ahead of the launch.
Business Insider
11-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
This new shoe just scored Nike a much-needed win
Nike's long-awaited collaboration with the WNBA's reigning MVP paid off pretty much instantly. Investing in women's sports has been a priority for Nike lately, and basketball star A'ja Wilson's new A'One sneaker sold out in under five minutes in Tuesday's online release. It's a project that Wilson said took over two years to come into fruition. As all eyes are on Nike to make good on its promises for a comeback, it's a win for the sports apparel giant. Its decision to use women's sports to reach its goal is "a savvy one" as the WNBA enters the global stage with surging viewership, Rachel Wolff, analyst at BI sister company EMARKETER, said. "The way Nike has approached the launch is also smart: By using limited releases — a rarity for its performance sneakers — the brand has been able to build buzz and increase the product's desirability ahead of its official debut," Wolff said. During the second-quarter fiscal year 2025 earnings call, CEO Elliott Hill shouted out Nike's "gender offense" by tapping some of the WNBA's biggest stars, including Wilson, Sabrina Ionescu, and Caitlin Clark. So far, its investment is showing returns, with high single-digit growth in women's training apparel for the same quarter. However, the comeback is far from complete. Last quarter's revenues were $11.3 billion, down 9% from the previous year on a reported basis. Repairing relationships with its retail partners, like Foot Locker and Dick's Sporting Goods, is another smart play by Nike after a "disastrous" direct-to-consumer strategy that started in 2018, Wolff said. Checks conducted by BMO Capital Markets analysts found that the first online drop of the A'One in the Pink A'ura color way had a "very limited supply," with key retailers selling out on Thursday. The OG Pearl iteration is set to release on May 15. "While scale is obviously necessary to move any Nike needle (particularly as Nike reduces reliance on classics), we see these data points as encouraging," analyst Simeon Siegel said in a Friday note on Nike's latest sneaker launches. It's Wilson's first signature shoe with Nike. She appeared in the company's viral "So Win" Super Bowl commercial featuring only female athletes in February. A clip of her spinning a basketball on one nail was particularly popular. "We designed the Nike A'One so that when girls lace up, they channel A'ja's encouragement through her footwear, knowing they can be like her one day," Ben Nethongkome, lead designer for the A'One footwear, said in a statement ahead of the launch.
Los Angeles Times
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
WNBA star A'ja Wilson's new signature Nike shoes sell out within minutes
Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson released her signature shoes online Tuesday. They sold out in minutes. A'ja Wilson is one of the biggest names in basketball. Not only is she a two-time WNBA champion, a three-time league MVP, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and an NCAA champion, but Wilson now has her own signature sneakers. A'ja Wilson debuted the 'Pink A'ura' edition of her Nike A'One sneakers Tuesday. The first wave of online sales of the 'Pink A'ura' edition of her Nike A'One shoes began early Tuesday morning. It also ended early Tuesday morning. It took only five minutes for the kicks to sell out, Nike confirmed to The Times. But fear not, Wilson told her fans in an Instagram story later in the day. 'This morning was wild,' the Las Vegas Aces star and former South Carolina standout wrote. 'If you missed the A'One, don't worry. We're dropping again Thursday at Nike stores and other spots everywhere.' Additional A'One sneakers in different colors are also scheduled to be released later this month, including the 'OG Pearl' edition on May 15. In a statement, Nike said of Wilson: 'Her debut shoe selling out in minutes is testament to her extraordinary talent and her impact on and off the court. We're excited to see the response and look forward to bringing more A'One's to Nike doors and marketplace partners throughout May.' Nike hyped the sneakers' release in recent days by dropping a pair of cinematic video ads — one directed by Jenn Nkiru, the other by Malia Obama, both featuring an earworm of a jingle set to the tune of 'Mary Mack' (with new lyrics that start, 'A'Ja Wilson's on top, top, top ...'). 'It's special,' Wilson told Desert Wave Media of the release of her first shoe. 'It really is. I'm so glad that a long two years of hard work is coming to life and everyone can enjoy it.'
USA Today
17-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
A'Ja Wilson showcases new 'Blue Fury' colorway for Nike A'One shoe ahead of May release
A'Ja Wilson showcases new 'Blue Fury' colorway for Nike A'One shoe ahead of May release Show Caption Hide Caption Kiki Iriafen and the 2025 wnba draft class shine on the orange carpet Paige Bueckers, Hailey Van Lith, and the 2025 WNBA Draft class stunned on the orange carpet in standout looks before the big night tipped off. WNBA star A'ja Wilson's new signature shoe ― the Nike A'Ones ― announced another colorway for the shoes ahead of their release in May. On Wednesday, Nike announced the "Blue Fury" color scheme for her signature line, set to release on May 15. The "Pink A'ura" color scheme was previously announced. 'White/Silver' and 'Black/Hyper Pink," are the other colors expected to be available. The shoes will retail for $110 in unisex adult and $90 for kids. REQUIRED READING: Shop Nike shoes, jerseys and more inspired by basketball phenom A'ja Wilson In February, Nike and Wilson revealed the new line for the three-time WNBA MVP, two-time WNBA champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist, which includes signature athletic shorts, sandals, T-shirts and a sweatshirt in the collection. The collection is set to be due in May. The When the shoe line is released, Wilson will be the 13th woman to have a signature shoe. The line is set to be released on May 15, with the Las Vegas Aces beginning their WNBA season two days later against defending champion New York Liberty, led by stars Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart. Wilson joins Stewart and Ionescu, as well as former Aces teammate and current Indiana Fever player Sydney Colson, as the only four active players in the league with their own shoe model.
