The WNBA’s Golden State Valkyries are hitting the runway tomorrow for an inaugural fashion show presented by Sephora. A celebration of basketball, fashion, and beauty, this is just Sephora’s latest foray into the sports arena — a place the brand is thriving in.

This week saw three major partnerships between women-forward companies and men’s sports leagues and athletes, demonstrating a new movement to recognize and celebrate female fandom of men’s sports. It drives home what The GIST has known since the beginning: Women fans love all sports, so brands and leagues are finally seeking to serve them.

On Wednesday, women athlete sponsorship platform Parity released a report on the distinct brand opportunity among women’s soccer fans. While we’ve known that soccer fans tend to create uniquely passionate communities, Parity’s survey uncovered just how much that camaraderie extends to sponsors.

This week, nailcare brand Orly celebrated its 50th anniversary by launching its first-ever sports partnership with the LA Sparks. As nailcare brands begin tapping on women’s sports, we enjoyed an in-depth conversation with Orly about how consumer trends and its LA roots led to this partnership.

On Tuesday, The Women’s Game — the women’s soccer side of the Men In Blazers (MiB) Media Network — released its first capsule collection in collaboration with Olipop (with an assist from Yeti) for its popular podcast, Good Vibes FC.

Yesterday, memorabilia authentication platform The Realest announced a unique partnership that celebrates the 85ers, the 17 members of the first-ever USWNT. On the 40th anniversary of the 85ers’ inaugural soccer match, The Realest launched the first memorabilia collection for the team, which recently launched its own LLC.

Last week, The Athletic’s Asli Pelit dove into the beauty industry’s data-driven insights that make the case for advertising in soccer. One thing that stood out? How Brazilian legend Marta drove Avon makeup sales by wearing a signature red shade during the 2019 Women’s World Cup (WWC).

The US Open tips off today with Fan Week, a pre-tourney event that the final tennis Grand Slam organizers have capitalized on by inviting more fan (and sponsor) participation. While JPMorgan Chase has been a longtime US Open partner, the banking powerhouse is keeping things fresh in its 2025 plans for the Open as it wraps a successful year in women’s sports.

This week, Front Office Sports (FOS) shared updates on the ongoing saga surrounding the sale of the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun. In early August, weeks after Steve Pagliuca pledged a record $325M to bring the Sun to Boston, FOS reported the Mohegan Tribe approved the deal, but the W never did.

Earlier this week, Taylor Swift broke the Internet by announcing she would join her boyfriend Travis Kelce’s podcast, New Heights, for the first time to release initial details for her 12th album. Unsurprisingly, early data around Swift’s announcement further demonstrate the power of Swifties crossing over into the sports world.

After inking a multiyear partnership with the NWSL earlier this year, Tylenol partnered with Wakefield Research to survey 2K U.S. sports fans to explore the pain points for soccer fans attending live sporting events. The results illustrate the natural marketing overlap for healthcare brands, which can utilize beloved women’s sports teams to appeal to fans.

This weekend, the WNBA and NWSL kicked off their respective slates of rivalry games, both presented by prominent women’s sports partner Ally. The WNBA is planning seven rivalry matchups through August 17th, while the NWSL hosted three key matchups during its inaugural Rivalry Weekend.