arketing officer Craig Brommer in conversation with Fast Company’s Stephanie Mehta, Brommer explained why the retailer is integrating female athletes into its marketing campaigns and how these sports professionals are engaging with today’s consumers.  Brommers discussed American Eagle’s ongoing partnership with tennis player Coco Gauff and how the collaboration is an indicator of the growing star power of female athletes in today’s retail space. He recalled how American Eagle’s partnership with Gauff came from a place of organic collaboration and was several years in the making. While many brands have only started working with female athletes in the past one to two years, Brommers noted that American Eagle has been consistently tapping into this underrecognised market for collaborations.  In addition to Gauff, American Eagle has worked with other influential female athletes over the past few years including UCLA softball star Maya Brady and Sam Houston State University cheerleader Jada Wooten. Brommers recalled that he sensed the potential for female athletes to engage with consumers in a way that felt genuine and powerful, and said he knew he had to invest dollars into this space.  “Brands are catching on to the fact that female athletes aren’t a feel-good story, but a feel-great story,” Brommers said. However, he also noted that successful allegiances with female athletes are not a “one-and-done relationship” and retailers need to make sure it doesn’t feel “transactional”. Prior to launching the collaboration with Gauff, American Eagle made sure to research the tennis star and her personal interests, both in fashion and in sports, and to tailor the collection to feel authentic to what she and her friends would wear in real life.  Finding the right brand partners In another panel, Joanna Coles, the chief content officer of The Daily Beast, spoke with Dr Jen Welter, the first woman to coach in the NFL, and Johnna Hayward, head of strategy and partnership marketing for the New York Liberty, a professional basketball team that competes in the WNBA.  During the forum, Hayward commented that she is highly selective of the brands she chooses to partner with the New York Liberty for several reasons.  As a team primarily made up of BIPOC women, several of whom are also a part of the LGBTQIA+ community, Hayward explained that it is vital for brands to align with the team’s interests. She also aims to work with brands based in the team’s hometown of Brooklyn.  For example, the New York Liberty has previously worked with The New Savant, a queer- and BIPOC-owned candle brand based in Brooklyn, on a limited-edition branded candle.  It has also struck a multi-year collaboration with New York-based clothing brand MMLaFluer.  In addition to releasing a limited-edition capsule collection based on the team’s colours, MMLaFleur has been dressing several members of the team for their pre-game outfits.  Closing the gap for female athletes In an era, when both male and female athletes are garnering more attention for their pre-game looks, the panelists all agreed that now is the time for clothing brands to be styling female athletes. And importantly, they should be paying to do so.  As Dr Welter pointed out, female athletes have been traditionally underrepresented and underpaid, especially compared to their male colleagues, both in terms of their salary and paid sponsorship opportunities.  A “give and take [relationship] with female athletes means more,” she emphasised.  And for Gen Z consumers, who care about inclusivity and can smell a disingenuous brand collab from a mile away, it’s not enough to simply create partnerships with female athletes, they must be done right.