L'Aerie Real Foundation and Offline by Aerie have signed a partnership with the USTA Foundation, according to FashionUnited UK. L'accord aims to support opportunities for women in tennis and to improve access to the sport in underserved communities across the country. L'annonce comes just ahead of the start of the US Open.
According to FashionUnited UK, l'Aerie Real Foundation would grant the USTA Foundation a 50,000 US dollar grant, intended to support the training of 500 new coaches. This programme would involve the USTA Foundation's 270 community organisations.
Jennifer Foyle, president and executive creative director of AE & Aerie, explains that « le tennis enseigne le courage, la résilience et la confiance en soi, des qualités que l'Aerie Real Foundation cherche à instiller chez chaque jeune femme ». She adds that by partnering with the USTA Foundation and investing in women coaches, the brand is putting these values into action on the court and seeking to empower girls in underserved communities, by building their confidence, developing their leadership skills and sparking a lasting passion for the sport.
Ginny Ehrlich, CEO of the USTA Foundation, notes for her part that coaches do much more than teach the fundamentals of a sport: they serve as essential role models showing the next generation what is possible, and it is essential that girls see women in these kinds of leadership roles.
A capsule collection in SoHo
To celebrate this partnership, Offline by Aerie and the USTA Foundation have created a limited-edition collection, including a cap and a sweatshirt. This would be the first merchandise collaboration in the history of the USTA Foundation, according to FashionUnited UK. The collection is exclusively available at the Aerie flagship store in SoHo, New York, as well as online.
This initiative comes at a time when tennis has, in recent years, become one of the most highly valued playing fields for fashion, with brand collaborations around tournaments such as the US Open multiplying year after year.
