The Women’s Empowerment League, or WE League, will be the first professional women’s football league in Japan. Set to begin this year on September 12, BEAMS International’s women’s streetwear brand X-girl is designing the uniform for seven of the 11 participating clubs including Mynavi Sendai, Omiya Ardija Ventus, Chifure AS Elfen Saitama, JEF United Chiba, Nojima Stella Kanagawa Sagamihara, AC Nagano Parceiro, and Albirex Niigata.

‘Wear the Hope’ is the design concept behind the uniforms. Hoping to offer women courage, the uniforms embody the potential of women, with each club and its members’ personalities expressed through colour and distinct design. It’s a combination of soccer and street styles that screams ‘this is definitely by X-girl.’

JEF United Chiba

Using a nanohana yellow as its base, the JEF United Chiba Uniform incorporates a classic camouflage design in the shape of Chiba that elicits a feeling of walking through the prefecture where the team are from.

Albirex Niigata

Albirex Niigata’s uniform colour is derived from Albireo, the double star in the head of the constellation of Cygnus which the team’s name originates from. It’s a combination of orange and blue, which makes one think of the gorgeous setting sun of Niigata above the Sea of Japan, and white, which is a reference to the swans returning home as well as the snow during winter.

Nojima Stella Kanagawa Sagamihara

The corporate colours of Nojima blue and Nojima red are used for this uniform as a nod to Nojima, the electronics stores and parent body of the club located in the centre of Sagamihara. It has a futuristic design inspired by the digital world and electronics.

AC Nagano Parceiro

‘Parceiro’ is Portuguese for ‘partner’ and refers to the partnership between the club and the region. The uniform uses triangles as its design base to represent three entities: the club, its sponsors, and its supporters. It also takes inspiration from Nagano’s gorgeous mountains while the stripes represent oneness and speed.

Mynavi Sendai Ladies

The city of Sendai where Mynavi Sendai Ladies hails from is famous for the Sendai Tanabata Festival. The club’s antecedents, Vegalta Sendai, gets its name from Vega and Altair from the Tanabata story. Together with Deneb, Vega and Altair make up what’s known as the Summer Triangle, an astronomical asterism. Mynavi Sendai Ladies’ uniform is blue and features Deneb on the clubs’ emblem for both the field players and goalkeeper.

Chifure AS Elfen Saitama

Chifure AS Elfen Saitama formed in 1985 with a focus on women in soccer. Their new uniform, too, was made with women wearing it in mind in terms of both the design and colours. The blue is different from the club’s iconic elfen blue colour and instead uses a special indigo dyeing technique. It pays respect to both the potential of female athletes while weaving in traditional Japanese design.

Omiya Ardija Ventus

Omiya Ardija Ventus’ uniform uses the same design as Omiya Ardija for their 2021 season. It incorporates bonsai motifs as a nod to the bonsai industry in Saitama.