Madison Reed has her eye on Generation Z – and who better to help reach this cohort than Paige Bueckers?
The college basketball star, who is expected to be the number one pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, is one of four UConn players the hair color brand has tapped to launch ColorWonder, its first semi-permanent hair color.
Bueckers and teammate Azzi Fudd will join Madison Reed as long-term ambassadors and advisors, while forward Ice Brady and rising rookie Morgan Cheli will join the two in spearheading the new product launch.
Madison Reed founder Amy Errett and UConn basketball players Morgan Cheli, Azzi Fudd, Paige Bueckers and Ice Brady.
Decency
“I place a lot of importance on expressing myself in different ways,” Bueckers, who has more than 4.8 million followers on TikTok and Instagram combined, said in an exclusive interview with WWD. “Being able to inspire the next generation of athletes and younger kids to be confident, to express themselves in different ways and not to have to fit into a box – those are values that I share with Madison Reed.”
Available in 16 shades of blue, black, bronde and rose, to name a few, ColorWonder retails for $34 and is designed to last up to 25 washes, offering younger customers or those who just want to experiment a no-strings-attached alternative to going to the salon.
Amy Errett, founder of Madison Reed and a former student at the University of Connecticut, estimates that ColorWonder alone could build a $50 million business in the next few years.
“Our products have traditionally focused on covering gray hair,” says the founder and CEO, adding that ColorWonder offers consumers the opportunity to “start coloring with Madison Reed at age 24 and continue coloring with us until age 75 – that’s a strong brand promise.”
For Bueckers, the partnership marks the first beauty ambassador, having previously worked with brands such as Nike, StockX and Chegg.
Madison Reed’s Team ColorWonder campaign.
“I’m looking forward to getting some fan engagement with ColorWonder – maybe they’ll do some polls on my stories (what colors to try),” said the 22-year-old point guard, who sports his signature braided ponytail hairstyle on game days. “I want it to be a mutual decision between me and everyone who supports me.”
As part of the partnership, Madison Reed will sponsor UConn’s Gampel Pavilion and XL Center for the next three years, making it the first women- and alumni-founded brand with naming rights to UConn’s courts.
Internships at Madison Reed for course credit at UConn are also planned, and the athletes will receive company stock. “I really wanted this to be a holistic partnership; I really believe that a lot of female athletes don’t have a lot of opportunities after their careers, so I wanted to make sure we created those opportunities,” said Errett, who will also offer Bueckers and Fudd the opportunity to franchise Madison Reed Color Bars – of which there are 92 – if the company moves forward with franchising.
“(Name, image and likeness) deals are interesting things – these young people are starting to be well compensated; they need good mentors and role models and we are happy to play a small part in their story,” she said.
And how is Bueckers preparing for the final season of her college career?
“It was my first healthy offseason since I went to college. I just focused on my weaknesses, continued to find the gaps in my game to try to minimize them and improve what I already do well. I combined that with traveling and just enjoying the summer,” she said.
