Hugo Boss Serves First Women’s Tennis Capsule
SHE SERVES: As the Australian Open gets underway in Melbourne this week, German brand Hugo Boss is lobbing its first collection of tennis clothing for women.
Around the same time last year, Hugo Boss announced a multiyear partnership with Italian tennis player Matteo Berrettini. Although the company has seen its name on tennis competitions in the past — Hugo Boss sponsored the Davis Cup in the 1980s as well as various local contests — Berrettini was the first player it had ever sponsored. For the Boss line, Berrettini helped create a capsule collection of athletic gear and acts as an ambassador for the other clothing. The Berrettini collaboration launched last summer and another is coming this year.
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Now it’s the female athletes’ turn. Two brand ambassadors — Germany’s Noma Noha Akugue and Ella Seidel — will be appearing in the qualifying rounds in Australia sporting items from the new womenswear capsule.
The two players will be competing in Boss tennis dresses, skirts and layered shorts, all in the company’s low-key colors, cream and black.
Hugo Boss’ sponsorship of athletes is part of a growing trend in professional sports, where athletes have been swapping from more traditional sportswear makers like Adidas or Nike to the likes of Emporio Armani, Lululemon and Gap offshoot Athleta. The relationships also go the other way. For example, Berrettini is sponsored by shoemaker, Asics, and a special Asics x Boss x Matteo Berrettini shoe, with the Boss logo and colors, is also part of the new capsule for 2024.
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