Domo Wells On Weaving Soccer and Style Together With the Washington Spirit
The first Creative Director of the Washington Spirit speaks on the recent women-in-sports renaissance and her capsule collection for the soccer team.
Underpaid, underrepresented and underestimated, these are challenges women in sports face more often than their male counterparts.
While male athletes experience more in-depth media coverage, and in turn have higher viewership, the tide is finally turning for women in sports. Within the past two years, we’ve seen how women’s college basketball has surged in popularity, fostering diehard fans while igniting a fierce interest in the WNBA, with stars Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark catapulted into the spotlight. This fandom has carried over to soccer in an exciting way as more women dominate the sport.
From coast to coast, the teams of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) have been showing up and showing out on the fields, with players putting their best foot forward on the pitch. Now, the Washington Spirit of Washington, D.C. are prepared to take things further by bridging the gap between soccer and style. Nestled in the nation’s capital, the professional team embarked on a new era in early 2024 with the support of Domo Wells, the team’s first-ever Creative Director and Designer. A DMV (D.C., Maryland and Virginia) native herself, Domo helps the Washington Spirit step into the spotlight that they’ve earned as the second-ranked team in the NWSL by designing an exclusive capsule collection and directing the accompanying campaign, featuring team players Ashley Hatch, Andi Sullivan, Aubrey Kingsbury, MaKenna Morris, Heather Stainbrook, Courtney Brown and Kate Weisner, that takes creative cues from the Renaissance time period.
Eric Jovel
“There’s a whole [women in soccer] renaissance going on which was the influence of this capsule that we made, anchoring on all the growth that they’re having,” the L.A.-based creative shares. “When approaching this [collection] we really did hang onto the Renaissance aesthetic with a slight nod to Pat McGrath [and the Maison Margiela Artisanal show by John Galliano] – not necessarily with the makeup look – but with the incorporation of some corseting and with the space that we shot in that gave it a kind of 17th-century, modern French Renaissance aesthetic.”
The campaign imagery, shot by Tyra Mitchell, was captured at the historic Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens in Washington, D.C., the former home of businesswoman and socialite Marjorie Merriweather Post. Using the estate as the setting for the shoot, the campaign came to life here capturing the teammates in a new light, dressed and styled in the exclusive supply of knitwear, Avirex-inspired jackets and oversized jerseys along with Jeffrey Campbell footwear. “In other situations, I might’ve felt out of place or feared wearing new clothes,” Makenna Morris, forward for the Washington Spirit says. “But with the support and hype from Domo, I felt amazing and pretty.”
Tyra Mitchell
Tyra Mitchell
Tyra Mitchell
Tyra Mitchell
Tyra Mitchell
As the Washington Spirit heads to the playoffs in November, Hypebae had to sit down with Domo Wells, the brains behind the NWSL team’s new image, to get the scoop on the soccer team’s relationship with style and the cultural shift occurring within the sport for women. In an in-depth interview, the DJ and former Editorial Lead of Black Music and Culture at Spotify, tells all on the New Growth campaign and collection and the surge in popularity of soccer.
You’ve balanced a career as an in-demand DJ, as the former Editorial Lead of Black Music and Culture at Spotify and as the owner of your own brand and creative firm Dead Dirt. How was embarking on this journey as the Creative Director for the Washington Spirit and NWSL different?
Domo Wells: It’s really different. This is probably the first role I’ve taken in an official capacity where I’m designing and creative directing for someone other than myself. It was a big deal for me to take this gig especially for a team that’s based back home. They reached out to me originally to do a one-off thing – which is pretty common in D.C. – but with a one-off, I wouldn’t have this sort of impact that I was looking for with them. I talked to them about doing something that was in a larger capacity and we landed on this role which has probably been one of the greatest learning experiences in my life.
2023 and 2024 have been revolutionary years for female athletes, particularly in the sport of basketball. Soccer is poised to follow in the same footsteps. How does it feel to be a part of this new era for soccer?
I’ve learned so much working with this team about, one – how women’s soccer operates and two seeing a lot of things happening. We’re seeing this shift with women’s sports that you see basketball leading the charge on that’s also happening in soccer. Working with the Spirit is tight because they’re killing it, they play really well and they’re on their way to the playoffs. It’s a testament to how structured and organized their team is, how great their coaching staff is and how great they are at picking players.
I think the other thing that’s been crazy to learn is that as talented as these women are, they’re [still] significantly under-supported and underpaid and that’s an issue that’s across all women’s sports teams. Many of these girls go to practice and then have a second job still. Meanwhile, the viewership is up, they’re selling out stadiums, their merch sales are up, sponsorship is up, everything is up. I’m just happy to be here witnessing this massive cultural shift because it’s what really puts a battery in my back. I love to design but being able to do it in tandem with a story that needs telling makes me feel more empowered to do my job. I latch onto the fact that these women deserve moments and people constantly saying their names.
What were some anxieties, if any, experienced by you prior to accepting this role?
Oh man, I have a lot of imposter syndrome when it comes to this work because I think it’s a combination of your natural abilities and inclinations to do something – which I definitely have always had – and then your experience with it and your technical abilities with it. I think, as long as you’re strengthening those things, you’ll be good but I’m cognizant of where I am in all of them. [That being said,] it definitely makes me my biggest critic and it sometimes makes me hesitant, but I’m realizing that it’s okay to start where you’re at. You just have to keep pushing. You have to be willing to learn [as you go] and be okay with that process.
Tyra Mitchell
Tyra Mitchell
Tyra Mitchell
Talk to us about your creative approach to designing and directing the campaign for the Washington Spirit and NWSL? What were some of your sources of inspiration when approaching this?
It’s been a great experience working with them and designing for them while bringing things to them that they haven’t necessarily had. It’s been about introducing new things to their audience that they’ll actually appreciate and would want to wear outside of attending games like just T-shirts and hoodies. What we’re putting out now is a little bit more than that. We’ll always offer T-shirts and hoodies because those are staples and there’s nothing wrong with that but it’s also good to create other things that are fun and interesting and have a little more longevity.
[There are pieces] that are inspired by corsets, [as an ode to the Renaissance era] and there’s this white, leather jacket, an Avirex-inspired silhouette that’s probably my favorite. I love all the sweaters, especially this double zip sweater and it comes in both black and yellow with a white striped waistband. My next favorite item is the big oversized football jersey-looking one and the rugby jersey one is probably right there with it too.
What would you say was the style story you were trying to convey with this campaign and collection?
The style story is the idea of elevation. I want women’s teams to be met with the same love, respect and affection as some of the most popular men’s teams. So, I think that requires constant refining to get to a place of an aesthetic that feels really specific to that team’s identity. All I’ve been trying to do is just introduce things that feel [helpful] with that refining process. I want to introduce things that don’t feel like throwaways, that feels like we put a lot of thought into this and considered the way we introduce it to folks. We don’t want to create pieces that will end up in a landfill because they shrink or are low quality. We want to create things that people really love and will wear whether they’re at a game or not. I think that’s very important because a lot of the time with sports merch, people don’t want to wear them outside of games because it doesn’t translate well.
Domo Wells, Eric Jovel
Domo Wells, Eric Jovel
Domo Wells, Eric Jovel
Domo Wells, Eric Jovel
Domo Wells, Eric Jovel
In what ways do you feel that you have been challenged with your new position so far? Aside from crafting this collection and creative directing the campaign, what have been some of your favorite moments?
I think the challenge is that sports fans will tell you what they don’t like immediately. It’s different when you’re a new brand or something of the sort and maybe there’s no response to the things you’re making and that makes you feel bad but it’s crazier when you have mad people saying something sucks. I never got a crazy reaction like that but I have had a handful of comments that were leaning negative, and I had never considered that element ever. So, that was a bit of a challenge because I had to step back [and not react], but it actually ended up being a great barometer for me to see what they respond to.
[In terms of my favorite moments,] I would have to say it’s working closely with the women on the team. Right now, I work the closest with Meg Patten (Head of Brand Marketing at Washington Spirit.) She’s been amazing to work with. The camaraderie between her and I has been amazing because she always wants to go for it and is always willing to figure things out. I love having someone in-house who’s willing to fight for a good idea because that can be a challenge in any corporate environment. Also, it’s been amazing to get to know these players and big them up. I didn’t fully realize how much my work would impact them and it’s been tight to hear from them and others about some of the things I’ve done that make the players feel supported.
What would you say are some of the differences between working in the music industry versus working at the intersection of sport and style?
I’ve done a lot in music and as much as DJing is the thing people know me most for, I think there’s a lot of overlap with the two. However, in terms of differences, I think that with the music industry, it can be a bit of a free-for-all in some capacities. I think there’s more room for someone who has the natural talent to just catch a wave and kill it in music. Versus fashion, especially as a Black person, it’s harder to continue to get opportunities past a certain level. You’ll often hear about Black designers and creative directors – void of celebrities – reaching a certain point and not being able to get beyond that.
When I left Spotify, I wanted to go into fashion because it was something I had been passionate about for years. I’m willing to sacrifice for it whether that means taking a role that offers way less money than I make right now to get the experience that I need. [I say that to say,] I think the challenges are very nuanced.
