Under Armour’s New Courtside Collection Bridges Performance and Style

It’s no surprise that the big sports brands embrace competition — it’s part of their DNA.

So as Lululemon and Alo continue to make inroads among female consumers, the other brands are not handing the business over without a fight. That was evident when Nike made the unprecedented move to partner with Kim Kardashian’s Skims brand on a new women’s collection, NikeSkims, that launched this spring. And Adidas, Puma and even Reebok are also doubling down on their attempts to lure women, partnering with WNBA stars and other athletes and celebrities popular with females.

It’s no surprise considering the size of the market. According to Statista, the women’s performance sports apparel market was valued at more than $42 billion in 2023 and is forecast to increase to nearly $50 billion by 2027.

And now, Under Armour is also making a move. On Thursday, the Baltimore-based company will introduce the Courtside Collection, a new line designed for the modern female athlete that blends performance and fashion.

“When we started designing this collection, we thought about her first — who she is, how she moves, and what excites her,” said Meagan Baker, vice president of apparel and accessories design at Under Armour. “She’s independent, confident and effortlessly cool. We wanted to create pieces that reflect that — rooted in sport but with a fresh, unexpected twist. Every fabric, silhouette and detail was considered to give her options to mix, match and style in her own way.”

The launch collection will consist of around 14 pieces, ranging from sports bras and tops to shorts, leggings, sweatpants, hoodies and lightweight outerwear. Prices range from $90 for a bralette and $140 for leggings to $210 for a floral full-zip and $245 for a bomber jacket.

Despite the name, Baker said the collection is not rooted in basketball but rather was intended to be a collection that had sport as a major inspiration. “With everything that is happening in women’s sports with the WNBA and the resurgence of style of the female athlete, that’s where the inspiration of the name came from. And if you’re sitting courtside, you’re usually someone to be seen. You put out a look and have a vibe. So we blended that idea of sport and style and individual expression into the name.”

Baker said that while Under Armour has been offering womenswear for many years, the team took a different approach to the Courtside Collection. “We wanted to be untethered to create for the young, cool girl in a new phase of her life,” she explained. “The brand is based in sport and innovation and performance — that was always at the center. But how does a female athlete evolve past high school and collegiate sports? She’s gaining a sense of independence. She’s starting to figure out her own self-expression. The collection really gravitates toward things born from sport that we could twist.”

Baker pointed to the Dazzle fabric that was used for the wide-leg, basketball-inspired warm-up pants, as well as the heavyweight hoodies that are offered in a cropped silhouette with ribbing. The leggings are fully bonded and the bralette has laser perforations.

“They’re pieces we’re known for but what’s different is the approach,” she said. “We’re pushing the walls out with this collection.”

Baker admitted that there were some pieces that “fell on the cutting room floor” because they were too far removed from Under Armour’s mission to offer high-performance products. “These can easily be pieces she can sweat in,” she said. “They have classic performance properties but with a bit more of a style-forward point of view.”

Baker knows that most women won’t wear the collection head to toe, but instead will mix it with other pieces in her wardrobe. “We know she likes to thrift and mix things up so we wanted the pieces to be versatile and comfortable with ease of movement.”

Asked if this was Under Armour’s way to better connect with women as its competitors up the ante, Baker said, “We’re trying to reach her in a different way and show our brand in a newer and fresher way than we have in the past. We are a sports house, we celebrate athletes, we celebrate female athletes. We’re not looking anywhere other than to ourselves and let that be the stones we step on to push the walls out.”

As reported, Under Armour is in the throes of a restructuring under its founder Kevin Plank who returned as chief executive officer last April. His plan includes dramatically reducing promotions and the number of products offered and returning to an aggressive marketing stance while keeping a laser focus on offering innovative, performance-based product.

The Courtside Collection will be sold online and at Under Armour’s retail stores.