Suzanne Johnson, the wife of Jets Owner Woody Johnson, is “the new ambassador and spokeswoman for NFL women’s apparel,” and she is “bringing high style -- and her formidable celebrity contacts -- to the rough-and-tumble world of football,” according to Kirsten Fleming of the N.Y. POST. Johnson "aimed high" with one of her first initiatives and "landed an unlikely collaboration with one of the most exclusive red-carpet fashion houses: Marchesa.” Johnson is “enlisting strong women” such as tennis player and Dolphins investor Serena Williams and “admitted football fanatic" former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to appear in the NFL’s third annual women’s apparel campaign. Designer Georgina Chapman also has signed on, and a “highly anticipated shirt will be unveiled after the NFL’s kickoff on Sept. 5.” Johnson was “approached three years earlier to play a role in the league’s decision to ditch oversize jerseys and patronizing pink T-shirts for female fans in favor of high-end handbags, fitted jerseys and even a line of nail polishes in team colors.” She said, “I couldn’t do it. I just had a baby. So the next year, they asked me again, and Woody said, ‘Go ahead.’” Fleming notes Johnson took part in last year’s “Rivals” ad campaign -- posing with Gwen Reese, the wife of Giants GM Jerry Reese -- and was “so energized that she convinced her girlfriends … to eschew their Bergdorf finery in favor of Jets jerseys at last September’s Badgley Mischka Fashion Week show.” NFL VP/Consumer Products & Apparel Tracey Bleczinksi said, “Suzanne has brought an incredible energy and creativity to this campaign that has taken us to new heights. Her ability to understand our fans, her sense of style and of course her passion for the green and white is unparalleled and invaluable” (N.Y. POST, 8/15).
