the beauty of sports

a win for the beauty-loving sports fan: why the Knicks and Saie just makes sense

Hi note-taker,

Welcome back to Field Notes, the corner of Weekend Report where sports and wellness meet brand strategy. I break down campaign concepts and cultural moments, backed by a Master’s in Psychology and an unexplainable amount of curiosity.

Today’s field note is about a very special and smart partnership between the clean beauty brand, Saie and the New York Knicks.

To understand why this works, you have to look at the heart of Saie. Laney Crowell built this brand on the beautiful mission of feeling good and doing good. It is a company that truly listens, living by the philosophy that their community is their co-creator. Whether they are excluding thousands of ingredients to prioritize safety, or using their platform to champion reproductive justice, Saie doesn’t just make makeup. They focus on safe skincare as the foundation of beauty, designed for everyone, from the teenager dealing with a breakout to her wise, glowing grandmother who models for their campaigns.

The spark for this partnership was purely organic. It traces back to two years ago, when Laney was at a game at Madison Square Garden. Her team was deep in development for their new setting spray, and as she watched the Knicks City Dancers take center court, the name CitySet finally clicked. It’s such a beautiful reminder that inspiration is truly everywhere.

But during that same game, Laney had a second moment of clarity. She looked around the arena and noticed that while thousands of women were deeply invested in the game, moms, friends, and fans on dates, the brands appearing on the jumbotron were largely ignoring them. It was a white space hiding in plain sight. She realized that while these women were completely locked in and lit up by the atmosphere of the Garden, not a single brand was speaking to them directly.

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The Story Behind Our Knicks Partnership

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That observation turned into the first official beauty partnership in the franchise’s history. It is a powerful reminder that just because something has not been done before, it does not mean it is a bad idea. Often, the most successful moves are simply markets waiting to be explored by someone with the courage to look. As Laney put it, this ended up becoming one of their best partnerships, even though it felt like one of their riskiest bets going in.

It’s a masterclass in community architecture and being empathetic enough to be the brand who wants to not only make women feel beautiful, but also to feel seen in places they might not naturally expect. It’s proof that small details aren’t so small after all and the ripples of courage create tidal waves of impact in a market that is overlooked.

I was so excited when I saw this partnership. Watching sports is such a regular, ingrained part of my life, just like my makeup routine. As someone who deeply values wellness and clean beauty, seeing these two worlds finally exist alongside each other feels incredibly special.

This is the new reality of brand strategy. As more brands realize that sports live at the intersection of so many industries, like tech, fashion, wellness, and beauty, we are entering a new era of cross-collaboration. When you stop viewing your brand as a product and start viewing it as a cultural participant, you don’t just reach an audience. You become part of their identity.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll just be buying pretty much all of the Saie products when the regular season is back.

Thanks for reading!

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Inside the world of Saie