Venus Williams has been taking the tennis arena by storm, and it’s not just because of her spectacular performance at the sport. The African American 30 year old professional tennis player is one of the favourites to win the US Open 2010 Tournament. She ranks fourth one the top 100 list of women’s singles tennis players. She is also the reigning champion of women’s doubles in the Australian Open, and her 21 Grand Slams tie her for twelfth position on this list. This record is eclipsed only by that of her sister’s, Serena Williams.
However, Venus Williams has been attracting attention for a reason which has very little to do with her athletic performance. In 2007, the tennis star took on a new interest: she developed her own clothing line. She named her chain ‘EleVen’, and it focused particularly on affordability and versatility. Her outfits could be worn either on the tennis court, or as casual wear on the street. Williams’s collection included pants, tops, dresses, accessories and shoes.
In 2007, this clothing line was launched as a joint venture with Steve & Barry’s. Williams was reported as saying, “I love fashion...clothing and footwear that I will wear on and off the tennis court is a dream come true for me. The vision has been to create a collection that will allow women to enjoy an active lifestyle while remaining fashionable at the same time”.
However, the clothing chain declared bankruptcy in the beginning on 2009 and closed all its sales stores, online as well as physical chains. Despite this, it does not by any means indicate that Venus Williams has stopped designing outfits. Ebay and Amazon searches deliver various pieces of her collection. Besides this, her own website is still advertising her newer designs, and it provides more reliable information as to where the outfits can be obtained.
Venus Williams also uses the court as a medium to develop publicity for her apparel. At the Australian Open in January, she wore a green one piece dress with a flesh coloured V panel at the front. The dress is designed with slits in the skirt area. She was subsequently voted an Australian Open hottie.
At the French Open in May, one of Williams’s more controversial outfits included a lacy black and red outfit which has been the subject of much debate and is possibly her most controversial dress after the on court apparel she chose for the Australian Open.
At Wimbledon in June, Venus Williams wore a short, white, Tina Turner-esque dress. She herself commented on it, saying “I think it's just a fun, elegant dress. Here it's all about white. There is no illusion this time.”
This month, at the US Open 2010, Venus Williams chose to wear a pinkish red dress with flesh colored shorts. The dress itself showed an explosion of fireworks, drawing immediate attention; when asked about it, Williams explained that the outfit represented New York to her. She also wore an identical black dress to another one of her matches.
Overall, Venus’s clothing line meets with approval. The worst, perhaps, which has ever been said regarding her designs, is that they “could be more sophisticated.” Although some people may call them juvenile, her target audience is generally satisfied. Her dresses are more memorable than most players, specifically because of the original design and creative outlook.
Should Williams proceed to the finals, she would have three more outfits to show off to her fans and the world of fashion; hopefully, these articles of wear will be subject to an even more positive reception that the first two.
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