Women’s Tennis Association Apparel for the 2011 Australian Open Part II:
Serena Williams Sneak Preview
This three part series details the style choices of tennis pros Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams and Na Li. These three WTA pros are the major players sponsored by Nike when on tour.
Serena Williams
Former World No. 1 Serena is not only extremely popular for her dress sense on and off court, she also owns and runs her own fashion house called Aneres (her name spelled backwards).
The American player is the embodiment of outrageous clothing, as well as a varied style which ensures that she is seldom seen wearing any outfits similar to the last one. Her fashion sense, which has often been labelled as risqué
and cutting edge, has also spanned the spectrum of style. While her fashion choices may stop short of Lady Gaga’s (a celebrity with whom she recently teamed up for her “Digital Death”), she has been known for wearing almost anything at least once.
A unique feature of Serena Williams and her dress sense is that her outfits seem to be based on, and affected by the tournament in which is competing at the time. While it is true that she is willing to try anything, she seems
to dress appropriately for the event. At the Wimbledon Championships, Serena has been known to dress conservatively. She tends to sport an all-white, traditional dress paying homage to the old-fashioned tournament. Serena Williams has also been known to show
off soccer-style stockings on the clay court at the French Open at the Roland Garros Stadium.
Her most outrageous dresses and fashion experiments seemed to be reserved for her home country, America. The most daring outfits worn by the player have been at the US Open in Flushing Meadows, New York. At the 2002 US Open tournament,
she covered the court in cat-like moves reflected by her outfit, a skin tight cat suit which seemed to be a more practical, tennis minded version of Halle Berry’s “Catwoman” suit. Meanwhile, at the 2004 US Open tournament she stepped onto the court in a black
criss-cross halter top, blue denim skirt complete with boots and a jacket. To top off the look, the jacket had her name, “Serena” spelled out on the back in shining diamantes.
This time for the 2011 Australian Open, Nike seems to have opted for a more conservative look for Serena Williams. This may have a lot to do with the fact that she will not be at the Melbourne event, Williams has been off the WTA
tour since she sustained a glass injury to her right foot, some days after winning Wimbledon. She is not likely to return to the sport till the spring run.
However, despite the lack of raciness in the outfits, it is still very much Serena’s own creations. The tennis pro, who is an aspiring actress, based her dress – the “Down Under Smash Dress” on a theme inspired by Marilyn Monroe
and her classic films.
The player’s white dress is made once again with a Dri-FIT V-shaped front and back, to absorb moisture from the skin. This dress features green piping around the waist to outline the V-shape on the back. The blue skirt, which has
pleats on the front and back, adds a hint of color to the outfit and pays homage to the courts of Australia.
Janice Lucena, who is the creative director at Nike Tennis, commented on the dress, “As a play on words we started around the Australian Open with ‘Some Like It Hot’, and the bottom hem is a nod to the Melbourne court color.” The
blue hem also satisfies Serena’s desire for a hint of blue in her next outfit.
The last instalment will discuss Na Li and her choice of attire for the 2011 Aussie Open.
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