Since becoming the official payment technology partner of New York Fashion Week in 2018, Visa has continued to find ways to show its commitment to supporting women and their involvement in the sports fashion industry.

Outside of Fashion Week, Visa became the first sole sponsor of UEFA Women's Football, with a contract lasting until 2025. This time for its fourth season as a sponsor of New York Fashion Week, the brand hosted a women's edition of the Visa Everywhere start-up competition and created an expansion of its pop-up shop, highlighting female athletes and female-owned small businesses. 

Mary Ann Reilly, SVP and head of marketing for North America at Visa, spoke about combining both sport and fashion worlds and their aim of empowering women. She said: "[For New York Fashion Week], we always have a message about women's empowerment. We showcase female designers and give them an opportunity to speak on panels."

"This year, we really wanted to highlight women in sports, design and fashion who are paving the way for other women."

Visa hosted a panel that featured New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley alongside Hawaiian Surfer Carissa Moore and fashion designer Cynthia Rowley who each discussed the importance of supporting women-owned businesses.  

The event included female entrepreneurs pitching ideas to solve payment problems in retail with an award of $25,000 towards their start-up.

Additionally, the event featured a pop-up shop spotlighting sports gear from female-founded companies. Visa partnered with Claudia Lebenthal, founder and editor of sports fashion platform Style of Sport, to curate the shop. Products on display included wetsuits, with proceeds going towards Women's World Banking.

With Visa constantly pushing to celebrate women in sports such as the world-cup winning U.S women's soccer team, there is no doubt that they will continue to show its support beyond New York Fashion Week.