Marks & Spencer has expanded its partnership with The FA, becoming the Official Tailor of the England Senior Women’s Team.
The new partnership builds upon the retailer’s longstanding relationship with The Football Association, dating back to 2007 when M&S became the Official Suit Supplier to the England Senior Men’s Team.
The Womenswear collection sees an in-house designed range of versatile, re-imagined tailoring pieces, that will be worn by the England women’s team in the tournament and in their official England team shot.
In a contemporary tonal colour palette of navy and white, the carefully considered collection features smart separates that challenge the traditional idea of ‘power dressing’, and instead encourages an individual approach, styling pieces however customers choose.
Items include luxe satin shorts, sporty ribbed knitted tops, slouchy wide-leg trousers, high-waisted tailored shorts, waistcoats, a bomber jacket and a single-breasted blazer.
“We’re incredibly excited and honoured to be dressing the talented and inspiring England Women’s Team on their journey to this year’s most talked about tournament,” commented Maddy Evans, director of womenswear at M&S. “We wanted to ensure the collection delivered on style and versatility, creating timeless pieces with individual styling was at the forefront of our minds and something that I believe underpins the whole collection. The styling options – dressing the pieces up or down – are endless.”
A supporting marketing campaign features England players Alex Greenwood, Lucy Bronze and Jessica Carter wearing a selection of pieces from the collection.
The launch will be supported by an omnichannel marketing campaign across stores, PR, media, digital and social channels.
The full collection – which launched on 6 July – is available in England across 10 stores including Marble Arch, Meadowhall, Bluewater, Manchester, Stratford City, Metro centre, Cheshire Oaks, White Rose Leeds, Birmingham and Pantheon, as well as online at M&S.com.
Anna Braithwaite, director of marketing, continued: “The England Women’s teams’ success in recent major tournaments has captured the attention of the nation. Their performance has showcased skill, determination and teamwork inspiring a new generation of footballers – and that’s only set to continue throughout the summer.
“We’re so thrilled to be launching this campaign and collection – the mix and match, versatile approach allows the players to embrace their own unique style off-pitch, creating a confident, empowering and effortlessly stylish look. We couldn’t be prouder to be partnering with the Lionesses.
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