US brand Nike partners with designer Martine Rose

In a recent collaboration with Nike, designer Martine Rose has developed a new approach to sportswear that integrates both male and female styles.

The Nike x Martine Rose Collection introduces tailored player suits that are not specific to either gender. This line aims to reduce the difference between men's and women's football gear, affecting both the style and culture of the sport for future generations.

The collection links two distinct moments: players getting off the plane and stepping onto the pitch. In doing so, it modifies the aesthetic of women's elite football and addresses the gender disparity by introducing well-crafted designs for women's sports.

“When a woman wears a suit, it expresses strength, resilience and beauty,” says Rose. “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 collection is meant to meet the moment of this summer’s premier sporting event and to be worn in nuanced and meaningful ways by those involved, the company said in a press release.

“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,” says Megan Rapinoe, Nike athlete, United States Women’s National Team member, and a muse for the Nike x Martine Rose Collection. “I think Rose, 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 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 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 Rose later in the year.

The collection will be available exclusively on Martine Rose's official channel from July 25 and on SNKRS and at select specialty stores from July 27.