In just one month, boxing champion Alycia Baumgardner will face Mikaela Mayer in a 130-pound title unification fight in London. With training camp for the biggest fight of her career underway, thanks to Oofos, post workout recovery isn’t much of a concern.

Baumgardner — who will enter the ring Sept. 10 with a 12-1 record with seven knockouts — signed with Oofos in January. Speaking with FN, the athlete admitted she wasn’t familiar with active recovery before being introduced to the brand.

“I was not aware of what active recovery was until Oofos came along. We have hard workouts in boxing, and after a hard day of training, I want to put on an Oofos, walk around in Oofos, because I’m putting in the recovery time and it’s comfortable,” Baumgardner said.

Now that she is intimately familiar with active recovery, Baumgardner wants to spread the message.

“Active recovery is not talked about enough,” she said. “Athletes have to understand that you need to recover, and if athletes are more aware of what active recovery is, you’ll take care of your body and have longevity in your sport.”

The benefits Oofos provides, according to Baumgardner, is especially critical for boxers.

“When we’re fighting, you have boxing shoes. Those aren’t comfortable — and you’re always on your feet,” she explained. “You’re jump-roping, you’re doing footwork drills, and with sparring you’re constantly moving, you’re not standing in one spot. When you’re in training camp preparing for a fight, we’re putting in at least three-plus miles, we’re doing sprints, we’re getting up early at 5 a.m., we’re having three-a-day practices. It’s an all-day thing every day for a good month-and-a-half preparing for one fight for one night. Oofos is definitely necessary because of all the wear and tear, the pounding on your feet.”

But Baumgardner is not only a boxer. When she’s not in the ring, she is both a boxing commentator and a model. (Baumgardner signed with Ford Models in March 2021.) Because of this, she admitted she has pairs of Oofos everywhere.

“They are everywhere I go. I always have to have a pair of Oofos on me to make sure I’m keeping my recovery in check,” Baumgardner said. “Some are in my closet, some are in the laundry room, some are in the living room, some are in my car, I have pairs at the gym. The more time I spend outside the ring, the more I need comfort.”

When Baumgardner signed with Oofos, she joined an already star-studded roster of beloved athletes. The brand’s ambassador roster includes retired NFL greats Deion Sanders and Alex Smith, as well as former WNBA star and current South Carolina Gamecocks women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley and several others. While the aforementioned athletes were stars on the gridiron and the hardwood, Baumgardner is aware her boxing peers don’t often get afforded the same opportunities, and because of this, she isn’t willing to take this one lightly.

May 25, 2022: Marco De Vincenzo is joining Etro as the Italian brand’s new creative director, in charge of the women’s, men’s and home collections, effective June 1. De Vincenzo’s first designs will bow for spring 2023 in September during Milan Women’s Fashion Week. Founder Gerolamo, or Gimmo, Etro’s children Veronica, Kean and Jacopo, who were previously creative directors of the women’s, men’s and home collections, respectively, will continue to collaborate with the house, which has been controlled by private equity L Catterton since July 2021. Fabrizio Cardinali, CEO of Etro, said thanks to De Vincenzo’s “sensibility for colors, prints and fabrics, we are sure that Marco will know how to best interpret Etro’s extraordinary heritage,” and that he will “give new impulse to the world of accessories.” The designer, a former winner of the Vogue Italia “Who Is on Next?” talent search, worked for years on accessories as a consultant for Fendi with Karl Lagerfeld and Silvia Venturini Fendi. His eye for bold colors, labor-intensive clothes, optical effects, rich fabrics and sophisticated embellishments caught the attention of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, which struck a joint venture with the Rome-based designer in 2014. In April last year, De Vincenzo bought back his namesake brand, which he first launched in 2009, from LVMH and his other partner MMGP Srl.

May 23, 2022: Stitch Fix has tapped Debbie Rose Woloshin as its new chief marketing officer, effective immediately. Woloshin will report to Stitch Fix CEO Elizabeth Spaulding and lead the company’s marketing teams across the U.S. and the UK. Woloshin was previously the chief marketing officer at Marc Jacobs. Before Marc Jacobs, Woloshin led marketing at the Frye Company and Ann, Inc. and spent more than 17 years with the Jones Group. “I’m thrilled to welcome Debbie to Stitch Fix as our new chief marketing officer,” said Spaulding in a statement. “There are many exciting opportunities on the horizon as we continue to expand our offering and focus on bringing our personalized styling and shopping experience to more clients. Debbie has built and grown some of fashion’s most beloved brands, and we’re looking forward to the wealth of creative and commercial experience she’ll bring to Stitch Fix. Debbie will play a central role in telling our story as we become the global destination for personalized shopping, styling, and inspiration.”

May 23, 2022: Slowear has promoted Marco Bernardini to CEO. He had been CFO since 2015. As CEO, Bernardini succeeds Roberto Compagno, president of Slower, who died last September, aged 62. Compagno spearheaded the growth of the company, which in 2018 sold a minority interest to Nuo Capital, an investment vehicle backed by Hong Kong’s Pao Cheng family. Slowear revealed on Monday the company remains controlled by the family and that it has formed a new board, which now includes Compagno’s wife Nella Loero and their daughter Elisabetta Compagno, with ESG proxies. Paolo Ferrin was named president of the board, which also saw the arrival of former Valentino CEO Stefano Sassi, as a shareholder of Nuo Capital; Tommaso Paoli, and Giorgio Delpiano, CEO of Third Party Brands Zegna Group. In addition to Slowear, the Venice-based company is parent to Incotex casual pants; Zanone high-end knitwear; Glanshirt causal shirts; Montedoro outerwear, and Officina Slowear accessories and footwear.

May 20, 2022: Roger Vivier has found its new general manager. Parent company Tod’s Group said Catherine Sardin is joining the luxury brand effective June 1. Sardin will report to the group’s general manager Simona Cattaneo and will be based at the Roger Vivier headquarter in Paris. Sardin developed her career in the luxury and fashion industry holding managerial roles at companies such as Louis Vuitton, Berluti, J.M. Weston, Maison Lejaby and, finally, at Alaïa, contributing to building the brands globally. As reported, Maria Cristina Lomanto, who held the title of brand manager at Roger Vivier, exited the label on April 15 to join Gucci as EVP and brand general manager — a new role for the Italian brand.

May 16, 2022: Tom Ford, who has served as chairman of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) since June of 2019, will be ending his three-year term on May 31. CFDA CEO Steven Kolb will assume the duties of interim chair through December 31, 2022. The board’s current officers – vice-chair Tracy Reese, secretary Vera Wang, treasurer Stan Herman – will remain in place for the remainder of the year, the CFDA said. What’s more, the board unanimously elected Tory Burch, Thom Browne, and Aurora James to the board, effective June 1. The CFDA added that its board will vote on a new chairperson in the fall to start in January in alignment with CFDA’s fiscal calendar. Ford was set to be chairman for two years and extended his role for an additional year. Historically, the chairperson role was a 2-4 year term (Stan Herman and Diane von Furstenberg were the exception).

May 16, 2022: Corneliani is collaborating with British designer Paul Surridge, who has been tasked with helping the storied company’s relaunch and repositioning, FN sister publication WWD reported. His first designs will bow for the spring 2023 Circle collection to be presented during Milan Men’s Fashion Week in June at the Corneliani showroom. The Circle collection was introduced with the spring 2020 season, reinforcing the brand’s commitment to a more sustainable model and its increasing targeting of the new generation of environmentally conscious consumers. “Paul is a talented, forward-thinking and experienced fashion designer with a passionate soul and an extraordinary background,” said Corneliani CEO Giorgio Brandazza. “This collaboration is part of a global relaunch project for the company that started in 2022 and that is showing very encouraging growth results, far above expectations.” Surridge left his role as creative director of Roberto Cavalli in 2019, after a two-year stint at the brand. A graduate of London’s Central Saint Martins, Surridge was previously creative consultant at Acne Studios in Stockholm, with responsibility for coordination of the menswear collections. Before that, he was creative director of Z Zegna from 2011 to 2014. Earlier, Surridge was design director of men’s at Jil Sander, reporting to then-creative director Raf Simons. He honed his skills at Calvin Klein and Burberry, working with Christopher Bailey from 2003 to 2007.

May 13, 2022: Belk has announced that president Don Hendricks has been appointed interim CEO, effective Monday, May 16. Hendricks replaces Nir Patel, who has only held the top spot since July. According to the North Carolina-based retailer, Patel, who joined the company in 2016, is leaving to pursue other interests. Hendricks also joined Belk in 2016 as the chief operating officer (COO) before adding stores to his responsibilities in 2019 and being named president in 2020. Prior to joining Belk, Hendricks held positions at Gymboree, Hot Topic and Torrid, including chief information officer and COO. As president and COO, Hendricks was instrumental in leading Belk through the continued unpredictability of the COVID-19 pandemic and spearheaded the company’s initiatives to enhance its omnichannel capabilities, the company said in a statement. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to lead the talented team at Belk,” Hendricks said. “I’m proud of our continued work to advance the business in numerous ways, while still keeping the wellbeing of our customers, associates and communities as a top priority.”

May 11, 2022: Puma SE has appointed Héloïse Temple-Boyer as the chair of its supervisory board. Temple-Boyer, a board member since 2019, succeeds Jean-François Palus who resigned from the role. “It is an honor for me to succeed Jean-François Palus in the responsible position of chair of the supervisory board,” said Temple-Boyer in a statement. “It is also due to him that Puma is well positioned and well prepared for the challenges of the future. For this, he deserves our thanks on behalf of the entire supervisory board.”

“The sport of boxing doesn’t have a lot of athletes with these types of sponsorships. As a woman boxer who is a world champion, it’s nice to see the sport of boxing have some light shined on it,” Baumgardner said. “Boxing is one of the sports that need the most recovery, I would say, and it’s amazing to be a part of the Oofos team of other athletes and influential people.”

Aside from pushing the narrative of active recovery and all the benefits of wearing Oofos, Baumgardner has other goals for the partnership. “I want to create a shoe. I think that would be dope,” she said.

Baumgardner will face Mayer on Sept. 10 at the O2 Arena in London. The fight will air live via ESPN+.