Soccer Champions Ashlyn Harris and Ali Krieger Land First Beauty Deal

Score one for beauty's growing sports sector: Women's World Cup champions Ashlyn Harris and Ali Krieger of The Orlando Pride are Bumble and bumble's newest brand ambassadors.
"Being a high-level athlete and being in all different types of conditions — hot, cold, rainy, you have to find the right products that fit your hair needs," Harris told WWD. "As a goalkeeper, I wear gloves on my hands. I can’t redo my hair or take my gloves off mid-game and touch something up, so I need products to hold up for 90-plus minutes as I’m sweating, running, and jumping around. Bumble and bumble’s been the product for me."
Both beauty and fashion have seen an influx of sports-inspired brands and partnerships involving professional athletes in recent months. WWD recently reported that Louis Vuitton is partnering with the NBA. Brands, it seems, are warming to sports — and athletes feel it's about time.
"We are going to work just like anyone else in the world," said Krieger. "It is our job and we want to present ourselves in a way that we’re taken seriously and we look and feel good."
Through the partnership, Harris and Krieger will promote Bumble and bumble's products, co-host personal appearances and create content for the brand's social media. The deal is the first beauty endorsement for Harris and Krieger, who wed over the holidays and who once hid their relationship from the public for fear of losing deals with brands.
Asked how it feels to be endorsed by a beauty brand as a married couple, Harris said, "It has given us a type of voice and platform where we can go out and show other people this is possible. We have happy endings, too, and we can be celebrated for being a couple that is the same sex and that’s OK and it’s beautiful.
"I felt for so long I had to hide such an important piece of me," she continued. "Now that I don’t have to do that, and companies are willing to get on board, I’m seeing the change I’ve always envisioned."
Last week, The New York Times reported that the WNBA and its players' union reached a tentative new agreement that would increase players' salaries and expand maternal benefits. The news was welcomed across women's sports, including soccer, where players such as Megan Rapinoe, who attended Harris and Krieger's wedding, have been outspoken on equality and equal pay.
Asked whether the WNBA news made her hopeful for equal pay in women's soccer — a long-running controversy that reached its peak during last year's Women's World Cup tournament — Krieger said, "We are so happy and proud of the women involved in the negotiations for the WNBA and so thrilled they are getting what they deserve. We always want to fight for more, but this is such an amazing step for women in general and it’s empowering to see.
"Not only are we fighting for female professional athletes, we’re also fighting for women across all industries," she continued. "It’s women supporting women and men — some men, we need more — supporting women. It’s healthy for the sport, it’s healthy for female athletes across all sports and, most importantly, fighting for women to get paid for what we deserve in our respective industries."
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