Fashion designer and creative head of Louis Vuitton and Off-White, Virgil Abloh, has teamed up with Nike to design tennis player, Serena Williams' kit
Fashion designer and creative head of Louis Vuitton and Off-White, Virgil Abloh, has teamed up with Nike to design tennis player, Serena Williams‘ kit for this year’s US Open. The collection includes a black ballerina-style dress, a bomber jacket and a tagged “Queen of Queens” sneakers. Abloh and the sports brand designed ‘The Queen Collection’ for Williams to wear on- and off-court during the US Open Tennis Championships, which takes place in New York borough Queens later this month. The collection comprises two dresses, a bomber jacket, three sneakers and a bag, and is described by Abloh as “blurring the lines of sport and fashion”.
“With Serena, we have one of our generation’s most powerful, inspiring athletes as the muse. I was trying to embody her spirit and bring something compelling and fresh to tennis. What I love about tennis is the gracefulness. It’s an aggressive and powerful game, but it takes touch and finesse. So the dress is feminine, but combines her aggression. It’s partially revealing. It’s asymmetrical. It has a sort of ballerina-esque silhouette to symbolise her grace,” Virgil Abloh said.
Breaking away from the traditional white tennis kit, the dresses come in black and purple, and have a ballerina-esque silhouette that draws on Williams’ interest in dance. Additional quirks added to the clothing include the word “logo” emblazoned in capital letters and quotation marks above the Nike tick on the breast. “SERENA” is also written on the arms, following Abloh’s signature quotation-style slogans. Among Williams’ pick of three sneakers is an updated version of the NikeCourt Flare 2, which were first designed for the tennis champion in 2016. The other two are updates of the footwear featured in Abloh’s The Ten; a collection of 10 Nike footwear classics that he redesigned last year.
For Williams, Abloh once again adapted the Nike Air Max 97 and Nike Blazer Mid SW, adding “SERENA” slogans, and pink and purple hues. Text on the tags that have become a recognisable feature of Abloh’s designs read “Queen of Queens”, as a reference to her dominance of the sport and the event’s location. Nike – which is currently constructing a building named after Williams at its headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon – is planning to roll out items from the collection in selected US stores to coincide with the event, which commences on 27 August 2018 and runs until 9 September 2018.
This year’s US Open Tennis Championships marks the 50th edition of the tournament and will also see the opening of a new tennis court: the Louis Armstrong Stadium in Flushing, Queens.
