Serena Williams’ tennis career, widely believed to have been the Greatest Of All Time, is coming to a close, and she’s making sure to go out with a bang.
From the iconic white beads she wore as a fresh-faced teen to any number of the match-stealing outfits she’s worn to play some of the biggest tournaments on the planet, Serena has proved time and time again that she is no stranger to making a style statement.
So it tracks that the outfit she wore to play the first match of the last tournament of her professional career, after announcing she was retiring from the sport last month, was nothing short of show stopping. To make her entrance onto the court, Serena wore a cropped diamante jacket and an actual train, which detached for the match itself revealing a matching tennis dress, reportedly inspired by figure skating attire, underneath. Designed by Serena and her friend and long-time collaborator Carly Ellis, the lead apparel designer at Nike, it wasn’t just the outfit’s extravagance that was remarkable, but the secret meanings woven into the design.
For instance, the bejewelled bodice was constructed to recreate the night sky the match took place underneath; the six layered flippy skirt represented Serena’s six previous wins at the tournament; on her diamond encrusted Nike swooshes on her trainers, the words ‘mama’ and ‘queen’ were incorporated.
Cheering her mum on from the stands was Serena’s daughter Alexis Olympia, who wore a matching mini get up (too cute) and white beads in her hair, an homage to the first time serena played the US Open over two decades ago.
Speaking to Harper’s Bazaar, Carly Ellis at Nike said, ‘Working with Serena is an honour, it is a blast, and it is an adventure. Serena expects nothing less than to push the boundaries, and to quote her, “Every time I see a design from Nike, I expect it to be better than the last.” This expectation not only gives us permission for the ultimate creative freedom, but she has made me a better designer.’
She continued, ‘For the first time, Serena prepared a brief for me, as well as sketches. She loves the grace, strength, and sheer skill of ice dancers, and was really inspired by the embellishments their costumes are known for. So we worked into several different designs, combining her ideas; experimenting and ideating.
‘I knew this had to be perfect. Once we had her dress dialed, we, of course, wanted to build in some surprises for the Queen, which came in the form of the crystal-emblazoned train and bedazzled jacket.’