Sportswear brand One8 has signed on Masaba Gupta as its first Indian designer collaborator, marking a clear strategic pivot for the Virat Kohli-founded label as it moves beyond cricket and performance wear into culture and lifestyle.

The partnership has Masaba fronting a campaign for One8’s new footwear and accessories range, including the cricket-inspired Seam XVIII OG, placing the collaboration at the crossover of sport, design and identity.

The campaign launched on Instagram, where Masaba framed it personally, invoking her heritage and describing inheritance as responsibility, not just legacy. The reference carries extra weight given her parentage – West Indies cricket legend Sir Viv Richards and actor Neena Gupta – lending the collaboration a layered narrative beyond a typical brand tie-up.

The choice is strategic, not just creative. One8, mid-relaunch, is looking to reach beyond its core cricket audience, and Masaba brings a following spanning fashion, beauty, entertainment and digital culture.

Her own brand footprint – House of Masaba, beauty label LoveChild, her Netflix series, and her 2026 appearance representing India at Milan’s RLC Fashion Summit – makes her function less as an endorsement and more as a cultural bridge between sport and style.

By leaning on her cricketing lineage, the campaign grounds the cricket-inspired footwear line in heritage rather than treating it as a manufactured tie-in.

The move also reflects a broader shift in Indian sportswear marketing, where brands increasingly build relevance through cultural storytelling and cross-category collaborations rather than performance credentials alone – positioning sportswear as identity and participation in culture, not just function.