Women’s Professional Soccer unveils PUMA uniforms: A skort?!?

Check out this press release from Women’s Professional Soccer - looks pretty cool!

Awesome to see PUMA’s name on this historical comeback.

UPDATE: About half an hour after posting this, a friend came up to me and was like “what do you think about the new uniforms?” I clicked through the press release to see the pictures.

Yikes! A skort? Are you kidding me?

As my friend pointed out, this kind-of reminds me of  the scene in A League Of Their Own where Dottie Hinson says to her sister, Kit, “I’m going to have to squat in that thing.”

I don’t know whether to support it or hate it. Seems to me like PUMA/WPS are trying to “rebrand” the female athlete and generate a market for advertising/apparell, which could help the industry.

Personally, though, as an athlete,  I think I’d quit if I was forced to wear a skort.

NEW YORK, NY (February 24, 2009) – Global sportlifestyle brand PUMA® and the stars of Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS), including three-time FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year, Marta, number one WPS draft pick and Olympic Gold Medalist, Amy Rodriguez, and US National Team midfielder and Women’s World Cup bronze medalist, Leslie Osborne, unveiled the home and away uniforms in New York today at a high-profile fashion presentation.

TV personality and two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, Summer Sanders hosted the event, while fashion designer and winner of TV’s Project Runway Season 4, Christian Siriano added to the excitement by designing his own fashion interpretation of a home and away uniforms inspired by the colors and materials from of the league’s uniforms. The WPS uniforms will be put to the test in the WPS Inaugural Match on March 29th in Los Angeles, California when the Los Angeles Sol takes on the Washington Freedom.

PUMA brings a sense of fashion, flair and femininity to the kits with tailored jerseys, shorts and wraps. Although the uniforms have a more tailored silhouette, the technical materials, cuts and shapes are driven purely by performance, designed for the players to have the maximum flexibility to get them to the ball faster. Made with 100% polyester, the PUMA WPS kits contain contract mesh inserts for comfort and breathability and, a shaped hem and flatlock stitching for a more feminine silhouette. Each garment also has a wicking finish to allow for moisture management, keeping the players dry and comfortable.

“Having the right technical gear and footwear during a 90-minute game is crucial to any soccer player,” said Leslie Osborne. “PUMA has made apparel and footwear with the player in mind and they have truly proven themselves once again with the new WPS uniforms. As a PUMA player, I enjoy PUMA both on and off the field. Not only do they make athletic wear that performs, but it’s comfortable and stylish.”

Two players from each of the league’s seven teams graced the runway in their respective home and away kits: recently signed PUMA athlete, Amy Rodriguez and Angela Hucles for the Boston Breakers, Carli Lloyd and Nikki Krzysik for the Chicago Red Stars, PUMA athlete Leslie Osborne and Christina DiMartino for FC Gold Pride (San Francisco Bay Area), PUMA athlete Marta Vieira da Silva and Johanna Frisk for the Los Angeles Sol, Hope Solo and Lori Chalupny for the Saint Louis Athletica, Heather O’Reilly and Christie Rampone for the Sky Blue FC (NY/NJ Area), and Allie Long and Sarah Huffman for the Washington Freedom. The key color combinations for the team uniforms are:

TEAM – HOME / AWAY
Boston Breakers – Team Royal / White
Chicago Red Stars – Team Pearl Blue / White
FC Gold Pride – PUMA Black / Team Gold
Los Angeles Sol – New Navy & Team Yellow / White
Saint Louis Athletica – USA Forest Green / Pace Grey
Sky Blue FC – Team Pearl Blue / Team Orange
Washington Freedom – New Navy / PUMA Red

Christian Siriano, known for his bold work during Project Runway Season 4, has been a long time friend of the PUMA brand, designing outfits for musicians such as Estelle and Lady Gaga using existing PUMA fabrics and pieces. For this special uniform unveiling, in true PUMA fashion, Siriano designed his take on the home and away uniforms by infusing his style, personality and charm with the PUMA sportlifestyle DNA and female athletes in mind. The two design creations were showcased as part of the WPS Uniform unveiling, reinforcing PUMA’s fusion of both sport and lifestyle. After the event, PUMA will work with WPS to highlight Siriano’s custom-designed outfits throughout the season and eventually auction his pieces later in the year, with proceeds going to a charity befitting of WPS, PUMA and Siriano.

“This is the first time I’ve ever designed for athletes – it’s perfect because I always design for strong women in my Ready to Wear collections and professional athletes definitely have to be tough in mind, body and spirit,” said fashion designer Christian Siriano. “These soccer players are amazing and I love it!”

PUMA became an official founding partner of WPS and an official sponsor of all WPS franchises in December 2008. The multi-year partnership makes PUMA the official sport and lifestyle apparel, footwear and equipment supplier of WPS, including the official WPS Match Ball. In addition to on-field performance wear, PUMA will outfit the athletes and teams at all WPS-related events, activities and WPS appearances in sportlifestyle apparel. This partnership will allow PUMA and WPS to enhance the game of women’s soccer together and will act as the foundation in the PUMA Women’s category. PUMA will launch a fully integrated advertising campaign starring their PUMA athletes, Marta Vieira da Silva, Leslie Osborne and Amy Rodriguez, that will run this upcoming season.

PUMA is a leader in the game of soccer with a European portfolio of five National Teams, including current FIFA World Cup™ holders Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Bulgaria and Czech Republic. In addition to being the official supplier to these European teams, PUMA has a long standing relationship with 11 African soccer Federations including the current CAF African Cup of Nations™ holders, Egypt, Ghana, Cameroon, Angola, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia and Namibia. In the U.S., PUMA has worked with all-star Major League Soccer athletes such as Matt Reis, Brian Ching and Dwayne De Rosario.