Christen Press Talks Re—Inc’s New Collection
"Let's Claim Our Space”: 4 Football Stars and Their Lifestyle Brand Defy the Status Quo
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You're probably familiar with the four founders of Re—inc. Megan Rapinoe, Christen Press, Tobin Heath, and Meghan Klingenberg were all members of the US Women's National Football Team that won the World Cup in 2015, a victory that wrote their names into the history books and laid the groundwork for the team's inspiring fight for equal pay. It also sparked the idea behind the trailblazing lifestyle brand that would become Re—inc, which dropped its new Source collection in November.
But let's back up. How did four athletes go from winning a World Cup to founding a lifestyle brand? According to Press, the seed was planted right after that 2015 win, when the team returned home victorious and felt the full outpouring of "strength and love" from the country. It left players shocked. "It shouldn't have felt like that," Press told POPSUGAR, reflecting back. But then, women's sports aren't often given the respect they deserve. The USWNT knows that better than anyone. To realise that "the games were as celebrated and watched and cared about as they were," Press explained, was a watershed moment.
Combine that momentum with the shockwaves sent around the sports world by the USWNT's equal-pay lawsuit, which they made public just before the 2019 World Cup. Each of the Re—inc founders are involved in that suit, which alleged that US Football had failed to pay the team equally on the basis of gender. (A judged ruled against the gender discrimination suit in May, but the team plans to appeal.)
Even as the four players moved forward with that legal battle, they felt that beyond just working "against the powers that be," they also wanted to fight for something. "We can be the makers of the world that we want," Press explained. "Let's build something ourselves. Let's bet on our own value. Let's claim our space and be female entrepreneurs as well as female athletes and world champions."
All Re—Inc Products Are Gender-Neutral
"In all that we do, we want to challenge the status quo," Press said, and it's hard to get more "status quo" than gender norms in fashion. So many products are delegated as "men's" or "women's" when, as Press noted, "there's actually no good reason for them to be gendered."
The four Re—inc co-founders are into streetwear, Press said, which is often made by and for men. "It doesn't often take into account that women are going to be consumers," she said. So they decided to create fashion to fit humans, not just men or women. "A lot of the clothes have pretty straight lines," Press said. They wanted their clothes to form to the way your body looks, instead of forcing your body into the shape of the clothes.
Re—inc's new collection, Source, takes that a step further. The collection is all about "realising that everything's within you, that you have what you need," Press said. "But you have to evoke that energy and cultivate it."
Keep reading for Press's faves from the inclusive brand's new drop.
Source Blanket
"I've personally been really enjoying the blanket," Press said. "When you put it on, you feel cosy." Curling up in the woven Source blanket ($125) is "a good everyday reminder that your wellbeing is important and it's something that you have to nurture."
Full Set in Forest
"Everything I wear is a monochromatic sweatsuit, basically," Press said. "I just bought my sisters' Christmas presents, and I bought one of them a full set in Forest and the other one a full set in Rock." Along with joggers ($150), Source offers a hoodie ($150), long-sleeve ($90), and T-shirt ($75), all made of organic cotton, to complete the set.
