INTERVIEW: The Fashion Designer Making Match Day Hot Again

Football has never been short on drama. What it has been short on is good outfits made with women in mind. For years, loving the game as a woman has meant putting yourself into oversized shirts, dressing “for comfort” or toning yourself down so you blend into the crowd. Feminine, flirty match day fashion has rarely been part of the conversation. Grace Taylor owner and designer of Honey Moone Studios is here to change that.

Last summer, the London-born designer began experimenting with football shirts almost on a whim. At the time she was making satin shorts, but an idea kept circling. Why did match day style for women feel so limited? Why did loving football so often come with an unspoken dress code that stripped away softness, shape and fun?

“I wanted to create pieces for a more feminine gaze,”

Two custom looks for the Women’s Euros later and football kits became her new obsession. Reworked second-hand shirts transformed into corsets, skirts and sculpted silhouettes that feel playful, confident and very intentional. The masculine language of football prints meets feminine tailoring and suddenly the kit flirts back.

Loving the Game, On Her Own Terms

Grace’s relationship with football started young. She grew up playing, often as one of the only girls on the pitch, supported by a dad who loved the game just as fiercely. Despite being from London, she fell hard for Manchester United and never grew out of it. Watching the Lionesses at the London 2012 Olympics was a turning point. Women’s football felt different. More emotional. More expressive. A space where women could take up room without apology. That energy feeds directly into her work. Her designs are made for women who love football deeply, but refuse to leave their style, softness or sensuality at the door.

Femme Does Not Mean Fragile

Football culture has long been framed as masculine territory. Loud. Aggressive. Unwelcoming to anything that reads as feminine. Grace leans straight into that tension. “I love fashion and I love sports,” she says. “But there wasn’t much for girlie girls or femme presenting people. I wanted to create the match day fits I always wished existed.” Her idea of femininity is confident and bold, not delicate or decorative. Inspired by 90s Blumarine, Vivienne Westwood and DKNY, mixed with early 2000s sportswear, her pieces are playful without being ironic. Flirty without asking for approval. Wearing one of her designs to a game is not about standing out for the sake of it. It is about feeling good in your body while you shout at the referee.

Dressing for Women, Full Stop

There is something undeniably fun about seeing women wear Honey Moone Studio pieces in football spaces. Not blending in. Not dressing down. Turning up strong, styled and completely uninterested in whether they fit anyone’s idea of a “real fan”.

Grace’s work has been embraced by a new kind of WAG. One who shows up to major tournaments looking hot, intentional and fully herself. Partners of female athletes arriving in outfits that feel expressive rather than restrained. Support worn loudly, proudly and with a waistline. This is WAG culture, but rewritten. No shrinking on the sidelines. No playing it safe. Just women backing women and looking incredible while they do it.

One of Grace’s most meaningful moments came when she created a corset for Celia Quansah to wear to the final of the Women’s Rugby World Cup. Watching her celebrate her partner’s win for England, dressed in something that balanced softness and strength, captured exactly what this new era looks like.

“When I made the corset… and I saw media footage of her in it celebrating… I just felt like wow, this is so special to be a small part of.”

Sustainability, Styled Properly

Every piece Grace makes is created from second-hand or vintage football shirts. It is a sustainability choice that never feels preachy. Football kits are constantly released, constantly replaced. Grace saw the excess and decided to turn it into something worth keeping. “I love new kits as a fan,” she says. “But so many end up in landfill. Reworking them felt like the right thing to do.”

Her designs prove sustainability does not have to look serious or stripped back. It can be sexy, fun and desirable. Something you want to wear on a night out as much as to a match.

What’s Next

This year, Grace wants to go full-time with her brand and leave her day job behind. She has already dressed her first WSL player and hopes to work with more female athletes across football and rugby. With a World Cup collection in progress, a shoot planned in Barcelona and growing momentum behind her work, Grace Taylor is proving that football fashion can be femme, fun and taken seriously all at once.

You can find her work and commission custom pieces via Instagram and TikTok at @yourhoneymoone.