Aces F A’ja Wilson unveiled yesterday morning her “highly anticipated” debut signature shoe and collection with Nike, the Nike A’One, just short of a year after the company announced it had added Wilson as a signature athlete, according to Michael Sauls of the Columbia STATE. The Nike A’One Signature Collection will be on sale to the public in May. Wilson is the 13th WNBA athlete with a signature shoe, but she said that her shoe is “about more than her as a basketball player.” Wilson, a “self-described ‘girly girl,’” decided to “go with pink as the main color for the shoe because it’s her favorite color.” The “silhouette of the shoe is rounded out by Wilson’s new signature logo.” The Aces star said that the shoe is “low cut at the ankle, making it versatile” and “ideal to be worn in ‘different spaces’ outside of basketball as well” (Columbia STATE, 2/4).
DEEPER MEANING: The AP’s Steve Reed noted among the signature shoe’s “many unique features in the design is a replica of the tattoos” Wilson wears on her arms -- a “tribute to her parents for supporting her through the years -- stitched onto the tongue of the shoes” (AP, 2/4).
AUTHENTICITY WINS: In Las Vegas, Callie Fin noted Wilson is the first Black woman to “spearhead” her own signature basketball shoe for Nike since Basketball HOFer Sheryl Swoopes 23 years ago. She is also the first Black WNBA player to be announced as a “signature headliner” since former WNBAer Candace Parker with Adidas in 2010. Wilson said that her “desire to be authentic” has “cooled her concerns about the shoe sales.” Nike has just one other WNBA player with a signature shoe in Liberty G Sabrina Ionescu. Fever G Caitlin Clark’s is “on the way” (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 2/4).
