Nike has extended its contract with the WNBA, the NBA and the NBA G League to become their official apparel and uniform provider through 2037.

The Swoosh on Monday announced that it has signed a 12-year extension of the deal that includes merchandising, outfitting, marketing and content partnerships. The deal will also include a new joint membership program for fans across the leagues and an investment in programs to make basketball and athletics more accessible to youth of all backgrounds.

The announcement came that day after The New York Liberty won their first WNBA championship against the Minnesota Lynx.

“Nike has always been more than a league sponsor — we’re a strategic partner with an unwavering commitment to growing the game, alongside the NBA, WNBA and NBA G League,” says Nike’s newly appointed president and chief executive officer Elliott Hill in a statement. “Our collective power, global reach and genuine love for the game will only continue to create new pathways and opportunities for players and fans.”

The deal renews a similar eight-year deal that Nike struck with the NBA for the 2017-18 season that made it the league’s official on-court outfitter. Nike has been a marketing partner of the WNBA since 1997 and of the NBA G League since the 2017-18 season.

“Since our league’s inception, Nike has committed to a shared vision for girls and women’s basketball,” said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert in a statement. “Our continued partnership is an opportunity to fortify avenues for development and enhance touchpoints across our dynamic fanbase while globally showcasing the WNBA.”

The new deal will see Nike grow its presence at key events such as the NBA Global Games, NBA All-Star, WNBA All-Star, the NBA Draft Combine, the WNBA Draft, WNBA Changemakers and more. Nike also extended its group license agreement with National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) to become an official partner of the group.

“This partnership extension reflects our enduring commitment to growing the game, championing basketball culture and supporting the next generation of athletes,” said Jordan Brand president Sarah Mensah in a statement. “We put athletes, and the game, at the center of all we do, and this extension serves to further galvanize hoopers behind a shared pursuit of greatness as only Nike, Inc. and our partners can.”

In light of those recently affected by Hurricane Helene, Thursday Boots is getting in on the relief effort through a new initiative.

According to the New York-based footwear brand, it will donate 100 percent of the profits of its new Thursday Showtime Sneaker Boot in the Toro red and black colorway directly to the Red Cross Hurricane Relief Fund. 

The company, which is turning 10-years-old next week, is launching the shoe as part of its limited-edition Black Label collection. Each sneaker-boot hybrid features rare leathers and has been crafted by the brand’s most senior artisans and comes in three colorways – 5 Tanneries, Natural Shinki Cordovan and Toro. The style retails between $360 and $525.

For this exclusive release, the 5 Tanneries colorway is a nod to the five tanneries that the brand used to make the boot – Shinki-Hikaku (Tokyo, Japan), Maryam (Tuscany, Italy), C.F. Stead (Leeds, England), Badalassi (Tuscany, Italy), and Horween (Chicago, USA). Each of these tanneries have contributed some of their best leather to a different area of the boot, the company said.

As for the Natural Shinki Cordovan colorway, the company used natural oil cordovan leather from the Shinki Hikaku tannery in Hyogo, Japan. And the charitable Toro colorway is made of Curtumes Ibéria’s nappa leather.

All of the boots are finished with gold-standard Goodyear welt construction, a buttery soft leather interior lining, a padded tongue and collar for added support, shock-absorbent performance footbeds, Vibram Christy Wedge outsoles and long-lasting leather laces.

Thursday Boots is the latest company to contribute to those effected by the recent hurricanes that have hit the U.S. in recent months.

The Two Ten Footwear Foundation — the charity organization dedicated to assisting shoe people in times of need — has activated its protocol for a major disaster response in the wake of Hurricane Helene.

Tennessee-based Soles4Souls is also stepping up. The non-profit said it is working with partners in the areas affected by Hurricane Helene to deliver new shoes and clothing to them as soon as possible. Soles4Souls said its mobilizing to deliver much-needed relief, but while they have the inventory, the organization is currently fundraising to help with the shipping and logistics cost of transporting those items.

Hey Dude is just several months into its renewed efforts to grow brand awareness. But the Crocs-Inc. owned comfort shoe brand has already made a splash with several new campaigns, product launches and key hires.

In the last six months, Hey Dude has onboarded a new brand president and chief marketing officer and has rolled out a longterm global partnership with Sydney Sweeney, positioning the actress and producer as a brand spokesperson. Just last week, the brand partnered with country star Jelly Roll on a limited edition collaboration that sold out within minutes.

That momentum is set to continue in 2025, as Hey Dude continues to build its relevance in more unexpected ways. In an interview with FN, Hey Dude’s chief marketing officer Paul Nugent said that the brand will continue to lean into partnerships and styles in 2025 that challenge expectations.

“We like the idea that we turn up in a place that people aren’t expecting to see Hey Dude and it gives them a chance to reappraise the brand and actually start to realize what the depth of this brand can be,” Nugent said.

To Nugent, Hey Dude’s presence at New York Fashion Week and its recent partnership with Sydney Sweeney, highlights this strategy. In the latter case, this strategy has started to pay off. The Sweeney campaign has become Hey Dude’s best performing content launch on Instagram and has helped the brand’s TikTok following outgrow its Instagram a testament to the brand’s success with younger audiences.

“We loved the tension it created,” Nugent said of the Sydney Sweeney partnership, noting how not all of the feedback from the launch was necessarily positive. “It reiterated to people who know the brand that this brand has scope and scale, and can actually go beyond maybe some of the wearing occasions that they thought was was possible. And we introduced the brand to new people who probably didn’t know a lot about it or maybe had a preconceived view what the Hey Dude brand was.”

When it comes to product, Hey Dude’s strategy still revolves around driving awareness and relevance around the brand’s most popular silhouettes: The Wally and Wendy. After launching its “Comf” collection for fall, a comfort-focused upgrade to the Wendy and Wally silhouettes, the brand on Tuesday launched the Wendy/Wally slippers, sherpa lined versions of the brand’s iconic silhouettes.

Sydney Sweeney will appear in the campaigns marketing the new slippers to help introduce the style and brand in a new context.

“We love this opportunity to iterate and grow the idea of what the core can be,” Nugent said. “We’re really excited to see the reaction from the community of Hey Dude for this product, because it is different for us and is going to be something which maybe people aren’t expecting.”

Italian actor, screenwriter and director Pietro Castellitto is Gucci’s latest campaign star as the brand continues to highlight its iconic Horsebit loafer.

In its ongoing Horsebit 1953 loafer campaign, the Italian luxury brand is showcasing its signature shoe through the eyes of its creative director Sabato De Sarno.

At the heart of this latest chapter, Gucci describes the campaign as Castellitto captured in a relaxed and creative environment, surrounded by books, music and art. Through a series of portraits shot by photographer Heji Shein, the “Enea” star transitions between a range of looks, from casual to distinguished, each grounded by the Gucci Horsebit 1953 loafer.

De Sarno and Gucci first launched its loafer campaign a year ago with Academy-award nominated actor Paul Mescal and Chinese actor and singer Xiao Zhan fronting the spot.

Gucci tapped the talents at the time to mark the 70th anniversary of its Horsebit 1953 loafer design. In March, Gucci followed up the debut men’s campaigns with another series of portraits featuring the footwear style worn by British actor Kingsley Ben-Adir.

Tracing back to the ‘50s, the horsebit element is among the key codes of the Florentine house, appearing as decorative motif or functional detail across ready-to-wear, bags, belts, jewelry and silk scarves, among others.

The loafer offered a new idea of elegance at the time: “equal parts sporty, casual and sensual,” Gucci said in a statement. Its double ring and bar, inspired by the equestrian world, has remained a defining motif in Gucci’s collections for over seven decades, evoking the life and style that surrounded equestrianism, a popular pastime among its clientele of the time.

The introduction of Gucci footwear in 1953 coincided with the opening of the brand’s first boutique in New York City and its American expansion. The horsebit first became a signature element in men’s shoe styles, before being translated into a women’s version in the ‘60s. While initially offered with a tapered silhouette and a higher heel, the women’s design was eventually revisited to mirror the men’s shape in the late ‘70s. In 1985, the style became part of the permanent collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art as an example of Italian iconic design.

Over the decades since its launch, the Gucci Horsebit loafer has become a wardrobe staple worn by icons like Francis Ford Coppola, Jodie Foster, Alain Delon, and more as well as Gucci ambassadors and friends of the house such as Dakota Johnson, Paul Mescal, Hanni, Kirsten Dunst and Mark Ronson.

The style has also been reinterpreted by Gucci’s different creative directors offered their own take on the footwear’s classic shape and its equestrian aesthetics, including De Sabato’s most recent interpretation featuring a sculptural pointed toe to it for spring/summer 2025. This new design detail can be seen in next season’s Horsebit loafer and in a Horsebit boot for men.

Gucci Men’s Horsebit 1953 Loafers

$990 Buy Now at gucci

Gucci Women’s Horsebit 1953 Loafers

$990 Buy Now at gucci

In its ongoing Horsebit 1953 loafer campaign, the Italian luxury brand is showcasing its signature shoe through the eyes of its creative director Sabato De Sarno.

At the heart of this latest chapter, Gucci describes the campaign as Castellitto captured in a relaxed and creative environment, surrounded by books, music and art. Through a series of portraits shot by Heji Shein, the “Enea” star transitions between a range of looks, from casual to distinguished, each grounded by the Gucci Horsebit 1953 loafer.

See all the photos below.

Puma is aiming to shed some light on one of the fashion industry’s most debated topics through a new educational content series.

In the new video series dubbed “#KnowYourStuff,” the German athletic brand will explore the differences between leather versus vegan leather, and the environmental impact of both materials. According to Puma, the idea for the series comes “in response to growing consumer demand for greater transparency from the fashion industry.”

Created in collaboration with Aishwarya Sharma, one of Puma’s “Voices of a Re:Generation” spokespeople, #KnowYourStuff aims to translate the complexities and progressions around the use of leather and its alternatives. Available to view on Puma’s YouTube channel and Sharma’s Instagram platform, the seven-episode story will roll out over the next two weeks.

“My goal with #KnowYourStuff is to educate and empower my audience and young people worldwide,” Sharma said in a statement. “Sustainability can be complex and the leather topic is embedded with sensitive themes, so I’ve taken care in making sure this is approached in an open and transparent way that inspires people to become informed about the materials they choose to wear.”

In the series, viewers can expect to see Sharma report on her fact-finding mission, encouraging audiences to #KnowYourStuff. Along her journey, Sharma will visit the Puma archive as well as witness behind the scenes leather processing first-hand in Thailand

Sharma will also show how she navigates different perspectives surrounding leather with guests, including leading Puma stakeholders and representatives from PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). Key conversations include animal welfare and the use of leather as a byproduct of the beef industry, cattle farming and concerns around deforestation, the leather tanning process, new material innovations and industry challenges.

“By openly discussing the complexities of the materials used in our products, like leather and its alternatives, we hope to foster a more informed and balanced conversation about sustainable clothing and footwear choices, which is essential for driving positive change,” Anne-Laure Descours, chief sourcing officer at Puma, added. “The #KnowYourStuff series is a testament to our commitment of transparency and our promise made during our ‘Conference of the People’ event to include the next generation as part of these important discussions.”

This program is all part of Puma’s “Forever.Better.” sustainability strategy. In its most recent report in March, Puma said that it reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 24 percent in 2023 compared to 2022, despite a strong sales growth.

“We are very proud of the progress we have achieved on our sustainability journey in 2023, particularly when it comes to the reduction of greenhouse gases,” Descours said in March. “We will not stop there, however, and continue to execute our Forever.Better. sustainability strategy and our 10For25 targets.”

While Puma has a long history with leather, dating back to the 1950s, the company said that today, leather accounts for approximately 4 percent of its footwear materials.

Puma’s 10For25 targets include sourcing 100 percent leather from certified sources and today the brand works with third parties, such as Leather Working Group, to ensure all leather is sourced from certified tanneries. Additionally, Puma said it consults animal protection organizations on a regular basis to review its animal welfare policy and actions.

DSW is dialing up the fashion this fall with a new collaboration with celebrity stylist Mimi Cuttrell.

Known for her work with Ariana Grande and Gigi Hadid, Cuttrell worked with DSW to curate a collection of this fall’s hottest shoes.

“I worked with DSW on highlighting how to wear a few of my favorite footwear trends for fall, including ballet, animal-themed print, kitten heel and court,” Cuttrell told FN in an interview. “All four trends are versatile from day to date night and everything in between. Ballet flats and kitten heels elevate any outfit but also provide comfort. Animal-themed prints shoes are a great accessory to any outfit and a cool court-style sneaker should always be in rotation.”

The stylist added that some of her favorite styles from her curated selection are from Adidas, Steve Madden, Steven New York and Madden Girl. “The Blanca Foldover bootie with a kitten heel from Steven New York is a staple piece for fall, the Madden Girl Krystal snake print Mary Jane looks great paired with a sleek suit,” she noted. “Sneakers are always great in the fall season. I particularly love the Adidas Grand Court 2.0 Sneaker in black.”

Sarah Crockett, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of DSW, told FN that partnering with Cuttrell gives the retailer’s customers exclusive access to her fashion expertise as they explore how to shop and wear the footwear trends of the season. “By integrating Mimi’s point of view and styling directives in our marketing, our customer receives the same attention as her A-list clients do,” Crockett said. “We are finding ways to continually remind our customers that they truly are VIPs here at DSW.”

DSW’s new tie-up with Cuttrell comes as the footwear retailer continues to collaborate with influential cultural figures. In July, DSW tapped actors and musicians Ashlee Simpson Ross and Evan Ross – and their children – to showcase the back-to-school season’s must-have shoes.

In April, the retailer paired up with “Vanderpump Rules” star Ariana Madix on an exclusive curated collection of shoes for spring.

Ugg is ramping up its focus on its men’s collection this fall with a new campaign starring Post Malone.

According to the Deckers-owned footwear brand, its new partnership with the nine-time diamond-certified Grammy Award-nominated rapper encompasses a global campaign. It features the Ugg men’s Weather Hybrid Collection, a refreshed take on the brand’s iconic Neumel ($180) and Tasman ($150) silhouettes boasting a bright “Big Sky” blue hue outsole, and a partnership to bring Feel House, the brand’s multi-sensory retail experience, to life in Los Angeles later this year.

Conceptualized and shot by friends and co-creators Ramez “Mezzy” Silyan and Adam DeGross, the global campaign, dubbed “Lead a Horse,” depicts Post coaxing his trusty but stubborn horse Jasper over a small puddle, which playfully communicates the Weather Hybrid collection’s waterproof features. To complement the campaign, looks were expertly curated by the rapper’s longtime stylist Catherine Hahn.

While the new partnership may not seem obvious, Silyan told FN in an interview that Post Malone has been a longtime fan of Ugg. “Before this partnership had come about, Ugg had made Post a custom pair of camo Ugg Classic boots that he wore everywhere,” Silyan said. “I’m pretty sure every time I saw him, he had them on, he even wore them at the super bowl when he performed. So, it really was very natural.”

When coming up with the concept for the shoot, Silyan said he wanted to use the brand in a completely new way. “Thinking about Ugg, I wanted to use the brand in a way we’ve never seen before,” he said. “It hit me that it could easily double for a sort of cowboy’s boot of choice, and I immediately saw Post as a ‘Lone Cowboy’ in the old west.”

“Once I had the idea, it felt incredibly natural, playing into Post’s current laid back modern country aesthetic, while paying tribute to classic Spaghetti Westerns of the 1960s with Ugg centered within each story,” Silyan continued. “When you watch any of Sergio Leone’s westerns, the cowboy boot is such an iconic piece of wardrobe, it’s akin to their superhero costume, along with their horse. It was important for me to create something that felt like an obvious marriage, but not so much so that it didn’t stand out.”

For Post Malone, the partnership comes naturally, as he is a longtime customer of the footwear brand. “I’ve been a Ugg fan since high school and feel so good wearing the boots. I even had a custom camo pair made for me last year,” said Post Malone in a statement. “That’s why I’m so excited to work with the brand and bring in my crew for this new campaign. Being comfortable to express myself has always been at my core, and that’s why this is such a killer partnership.”

“We’re thrilled to have Post Malone as our new men’s ambassador,” said Anne Spangenberg, president of Ugg, added. “Ugg is all about being comfortable to express yourself, so to partner with Post Malone to express his creativity and co-create our new campaign with us is truly an honor.”

“Lead a Horse” will live globally through public relations, social media, and paid media, including out-of-home, and across the brand’s stores and website. Later this season, the brand will unveil a second spot featuring Post Malone in a new men’s Ugg footwear style.

This new campaign comes as Ugg places more attention on its men’s category. In an interview with FN in August, Spangenberg said the brand still has opportunity in the men’s space – a segment outgoing Deckers chief executive officer Dave Powers has also pinpointed.

“I never thought that I would say that we were underserving men,” Spangenberg said in August. “But we’ve got a huge opportunity. I’m very excited and very proud of the work that our team have done to better understand our men’s consumers and the opportunity in that space and to better serve them.”

What’s on deck for the men’s collection? The executive noted new platform silhouettes, updates to the Tasman and a new loafer coming in the spring. “There’s a lot of energy around the men’s styles that we are going to deliver this season, and in the seasons to come,” she added.

According to the Deckers-owned footwear brand, its new partnership with the nine-time diamond-certified Grammy Award-nominated rapper encompasses a global campaign. It features the Ugg men’s Weather Hybrid Collection, a refreshed take on the brand’s iconic Neumel ($180) and Tasman ($150) silhouettes boasting a bright “Big Sky” blue hue outsole, and a partnership to bring Feel House, the brand’s multi-sensory retail experience, to life in Los Angeles later this year.

Conceptualized and shot by friends and co-creators Ramez “Mezzy” Silyan and Adam DeGross, the global campaign, dubbed “Lead a Horse,” depicts Post coaxing his trusty but stubborn horse Jasper over a small puddle, which playfully communicates the Weather Hybrid collection’s waterproof features. To complement the campaign, looks were expertly curated by the rapper’s longtime stylist Catherine Hahn.

See all the photos from the campaign below.

In the last two weeks, retailers like Foot Locker, Shoe Carnival and Genesco reported a strong start to the crucial back-to-school season. And these gains were, in large part, driven by new marketing initiatives.

At Shoe Carnival, for example, chief executive officer Mark Worden this week called out the brand’s new “digital-first marketing approach” that drove customer engagement throughout the crucial season. This strategy represented a departure from the chain’s previous focus on more traditional channels like television and allowed the company to quickly pivot efforts into whatever products were trending in real time, as opposed to getting stuck with a bet made on a product that didn’t end up landing.

“Bottom line, this new approach contributed to a record-setting Q2 sales and comparable sales growth during back-to-school without spending additional marketing dollars versus the prior year,” Worden said in a call with analysts this week, adding that the retailer didn’t spend more. “The effectiveness of our spend and added flexibility to react immediately to the customer are exciting to me, but we intend to continue building our expertise in this area going forward.”

At Foot Locker, July was the retailer’s strongest month in the second quarter thanks to a strong start to the back-to-school season that was bolstered by sneaker-focused marketing efforts, executives said. Plus, penetration for Foot Locker’s newly launched loyalty program, FLX, was also its highest in July.

“As we move into the back-to-school and holiday selling period, we’re continuing to scale and activate the new program and benefits and we look forward to sharing incremental insights as the program moves towards our 50 percent loyalty penetration target by 2026,” Foot Locker president and chief executive officer Mary Dillon said in a call with analysts last week.

At Genesco, chief executive office Mimi Vaughn attributed a Q2 sales bump to a strong start to the back-to-school season that continued through the third quarter in August. Last quarter, Vaughn said Journeys would roll out “an in-store digital and social refresh” to spread awareness of the retailer’s robust assortment of athletic and casual shoes.

“We’re very encouraged by the positive reaction to Journeys’ improved back-to-school assortment, and optimistic we’ll be positioned to drive similar results for holiday,” Vaughn said in an earnings call on Friday.

Vaughn also called out the recent hiring of Stacy Doren as Journeys’ new chief marketing officer, a role that will help the chain raise its brand awareness by marketing to new consumers via digital and social channels.

FN reported this year that shoe retailers were bolstering their assortments and marketing efforts to meet demand among value driven consumers this back-to-school season. For example, DSW said it was being intentional with its family-focused marketing and is prioritizing a strong assortment of key styles and colors. And the Caleres-owned Famous Footwear also said it would roll out a new marketing campaign across all channels to highlight its assortment of kids brands.

According to the 2024 U.S. Consumer Footwear survey from global consulting firm AlixPartners and the Footwear Distributors & Retailers of America (FDRA), consumers listed quality, comfort, size availability, design and product reviews among the most important drivers of shoe purchases for the BTS season this year. Comparatively, price ranked as the sixth most important attribute, marking a departure from the trend that characterized BTS shopping for the last several years.