Clothing brand Qua onboards women cricketers for its pre-fall campaign

New Delhi-based women power clothing brand, Qua, has collaborated with top Indian women cricketers for its pre-fall 2024 campaign ahead of the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. These games are scheduled to start on October 3, 2024.

Named ‘Modern Heroine’, the campaign celebrates the spirit of women in sports and their discipline, hard work, dedication, and the pursuit of excellence. The players roped in for the ads include right-handed batters Shafali Verma and Jemimah Rodrigues, the right-arm off-break bowler Shreyanka Patil, and the slow left-arm orthodox bowler Radha Yadav.

Qua choice of selecting these women cricketers stemmed from its objective to represent them as the modern-day icons of empowerment. It wanted to underline that power dressing could easily blend the tenacity of sport with the elegance and sophistication of fashion.  

Qua’s pre-fall 2024 campaign featuring Indian women cricketers, will be amplified across platforms, with an emphasis on influencer collaborations, targeted performance ads, and partnerships with top-tier fashion magazines.

slow left-arm orthodox bowler Radha Yadav in a Qua outfit.

Striking it big with cricketers

Qua made its way into the women's clothing line in July 2019. Though it has consistently collaborated with influencers, including Komal Pandey, Sakshi Sidhwani and Karmaa Dhingra, during the past 18 months, this is the first time it is roping in sportswomen.

Explaining the thought process behind featuring female cricketers in the campaign and the intended messaging, Rupanshi Agarwal, co-founder and CEO of QUA, said, “The core message behind the ‘Modern Heroine’ campaign is to celebrate the multidimensional strength and individuality of women by reimagining what it means to be powerful in today’s world.”

Rupanshi further explains that this collaboration marks a deliberate evolution in the brand’s journey. As the brand has grown and its audience has diversified, a need was felt to connect with a broad spectrum of strong, inspirational women.

The collaboration with sportswomen, specifically cricketers, represents Qua’s recognition of the shifting cultural landscape in India, where female sportspersons are emerging as powerful role models, breaking all barriers. The timing is relevant given the rising prominence of women’s cricket in India and globally. These athletes embody the strength, resilience, and determination that Qua wants to associate with, making them the ideal fit for the brand.

Shafali Verma poses in a Qua power outfit.

Why women's cricket?

Historically, sports in India were considered a male-dominated field, but this has changed significantly with more women choosing to pursue sports professionally. But over the past decade, India has seen a significant rise in the participation of women in sports, driven by greater visibility, government support, and increased social acceptance.

Many top brands opt for sports personalities, especially cricketers, as brand ambassadors. According to Rupanshi, there are shared qualities such as discipline, performance, individuality, and the breaking of boundaries between both the fields—fashion and cricket.

There has been a substantial rise in viewership for women’s cricket in the recent past. The 2023 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup saw a record-breaking viewership—231 million viewers globally—with a significant portion of that audience coming from India. The ICC reported that women’s cricket viewership has grown by more than 300% since 2017, driven by better marketing, improved coverage, and increased visibility of women’s tournaments.

There also has been an uptick in earnings made by women cricketers of late. According to the International Cricket Council (ICC), India’s women cricketers are some of the best-paid in the world, with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) allocating substantial resources to support and promote it. In 2020, the BCCI made a landmark decision to increase the prize money for women’s domestic tournaments by 150%, thus, incentivising a career in cricket for women.

With all women’s cricket tournaments being broadcast live in India, there has been a surge in viewership for these games. Given this scenario, Qua's pre-fall 2024 campaign may help the brand improve its visibility in the Indian market.

Divya Agarwal, co-founder and creative director of Qua explained further, “Cricket is one of the most widely followed sports in India, and that allows our collaboration to make a bold statement. These cricketers were chosen not just because of their excellence in sport, but also because they represent the idea of the Modern Heroine—the women who are unapologetically themselves, pushing limits, and redefining what it means to be powerful in a world that often demands them to conform.”