Ainka Jess is a fan of fashion and the WNBA.supplied
An ‘all-eyes-on-me’ sense of personal style has always paired perfectly with the ego and charisma of professional athletes. Now, an increasing number of fans are paying attention to the sports and fashion connection.
Athletes are becoming influencers, says Brian Levine, president, Talent and Social Impact at Envision Sports & Entertainment, who represents sprinter Andre De Grasse and soccer star Christine Sinclair. “People are naturally drawn to them. To see them express themselves through fashion and then go excel at their sport – together, those two things are pretty special.”
Players in the WNBA, NBA and NFL have perfected the art of the tunnel walk. They’re treating the journey from the entrance tunnel to the dressing room like a runway. And after the last WNBA draft, rookies Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Cameron Brink were featured in Vogue magazine.
This link between sports and fashion isn’t a new phenomenon. In 1933, French tennis star René Lacoste transitioned from the court to fashion entrepreneurship. He launched a signature clothing line, starting with the Lacoste tennis shirt. In the 1990s, Michael Jordan further bridged the sports and cultural icon gap, with Air Jordans transforming sneakers into coveted fashion statements.
More recently, the connection has expanded significantly, particularly among women. According to a 2024 report by the Sports Innovation Lab, the women’s sports apparel market in the U.S. has soared to an estimated $4-billion. Additionally, a study by Wasserman’s The Collective found that nearly 75 per cent of women now identify as sports fans, a 10 per cent increase over the last three years.
Fashion is part of sports passion
The growing interest in sports among women is mirrored in their influence on sports fashion markets. As many athletes have landed lucrative deals with fashion brands, Instagram and TikTok are full of women critiquing, commenting and fangirling over their style.
“Women athletes are not a monolith,” says Ainka Jess, founder of She’s4Sports, a Toronto-based multimedia platform that amplifies women’s voices in athletics. “They’re showing people that you can have both. You can be athletic and also be a girlie girl. Or not be girlie and still be interested in beauty and fashion.”
She says that buying merchandise and fashion is an extension of her love and passion for the sport and the players. “You want to stay connected to them, and that’s one way of doing that.”
Jess owns several WNBA jerseys and has been known to rock her ‘Everyone is Watching Women’s Sports’ T-shirts with a suit and sneakers to work. She went to a pre-season WNBA game in Toronto in 2023, and heard during halftime that all the merchandise sold out. “Fans want more. We want the T-shirts, the hoodies. I’ll take a bracelet, a hat. Just give us some options.”
On Jan. 9, Canada’s first WNBA team, the Toronto Tempo, announced Sephora Canada as a founding partner and official beauty partner of the Toronto Tempo. The brand’s logo will be seen on Tempo jerseys when the team starts play in 2026. Allison Litzinger, a marketing executive at Sephora Canada, calls the partnership a chance to “shape the cultural conversation in Canada around beauty and basketball.”
Jays fan shows game-day glam
Carolyn Rouse wears Blue Jays fashion every game day.supplied
Another Toronto team has the heart of Carolyn Rouse of Hamilton, Ont. She wears her curated Blue Jays wardrobe on game days whether she’s at the Rogers Centre, travelling to an away game, listening on the radio or just running errands. Rouse says these pieces connect her to the Jays and to strangers.
“There’s a nice sense of community that comes out of wearing your favourite team’s gear and seeing others wear it, too. When I’m out on game day at the grocery store and someone says, ‘Go Jays!,’ I love that.”
Rouse sources Jays apparel that indulges her love of fashion. She owns multiple sweaters, jackets, shirts, hats and jewellery. Beyond the more traditional Jays merch, she’s always looking for unique pieces. Like the sleeveless Jays dress for when she travels to Florida for spring training, and the vintage 1992 Jays World Series bomber jacket she bought on online fashion marketplace Poshmark.
She even wears a specific shade of red lipstick to games that matches the red in the team’s colours. “It’s from MAC and it’s discontinued. I found it in a set that wasn’t part of their regular line. I have a tiny bit left, but I recently purchased MAC’s ‘Give Me Fever’, which is a pretty good substitute.”
Rouse has her eye on a pair of gold hoop earrings with Blue Jays cut out in block letters. They’re from a collection created by NFL sideline reporter Erin Andrews and the popular jewellery online retailer Baublebar, one of many fashion collaborations creating more appealing accessories for female fans.
Rouse keeps adding to her Blue Jays fashion collection.supplied
When Rouse travels to away games (she has a bucket list goal to visit every major league baseball stadium), she’s aware of what she’s wearing.
“In Detroit or Pittsburgh, you’ll see a sea of blue from Canada. I’ve met people from all across the country in other cities who are there for the same reason I am: to cheer on the Toronto Blue Jays and look cute doing it.”