Fashion News Extra: Misty Scores Another One

Competition between women’s active wear is fierce with just a few brands taking the lion share of the market.  Under Armour, known mostly for its tight tees on the burly physique of linebackers has come up with a 15 million dollar ad campaign that just might lure consumers away from mega women’s active wear brands like Nike, Athleta, Lululemon, and Hanes.

With its new ad campaign “I Will What I Want,” Under Armour is attempting to rebrand itself as an active wear company that supports and empowers athletic women, ranging from soccer players to yoga enthusiasts to even sleek, regal ballerinas. Enter American Ballet Theater soloist Misty Copeland.

In the past couple of years Misty Copeland has accomplished some noteworthy feats. From her New York Times bestseller, Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina to editorial spreads in Vogue Italia to principal roles in Coppelia, La Bayadere, Firebird, Duo Concertant, and Manon. And over the years Copeland has racked up a wide range of product endorsements from dance footwear staples Sansha, Capezio, and Block to Lavazza Coffee, Dr. Pepper, Blackberry, Payless, and Proactiv Solutions.

Still, you might ask why Misty Copeland for Under Armour? “It was a deliberate choice to feature Misty as someone who bucks the conventional definition of athlete and ushers in a new idea of what it means to be an athlete for Under Armour women,” says Leanne Fremar, the executive director of the women’s division at Under Armour in time.com. And also unlike the dated image of ballerina as an ethereal and other worldly creature, Misty Copeland is forging a new projection of ballerina as relatable, accessible, and above all, athletic.

“It’s important to show athletic women, and the broader public, that both inner and outer strength is something that should be celebrated,” Copeland says in a time.com article about dispelling misconceptions about the ideal ballet body. “I’m grateful for the opportunity Under Armour has given me to show people the intense training and dedication that goes into ballet.”

—William S. Gooch