Serena Williams will be wearing designs by Virgil Abloh for Nike at the US Open this month. Serena lost in the second round of the Cincinnati Masters yesterday but she seems to be improving with every match going into the US Open and she’s going to look like a Queen when she steps onto the court at the end of the month.
Virgil’s designs for Serena are literally called The Queen Collection and my bank account already feels personally attacked. I almost threw bills at my screen from this Instagram post alone and all you can see is the logo.
Vanity Fair has more details on Serena’s US Open outfit:
Her one-shoulder black tennis dress includes a ruffled, tulle skirt with “logo” printed above the Nike swoosh and “Serena” printed alongside the sleeve.
You can see the full looks on Virgil’s Instagram.
I WILL SELL MY SOUL FOR THIS LEATHER JACKET. She’s definitely going to win the US Open in these dresses. How could she not? They are *that* good. This is where Lainey yells about me about superstitions and jinxing things so I’ll knock on wood and say that we are very hopeful that Serena will win but nothing is guaranteed blah blah LOOK AT THESE DRESSES.
Virgil Abloh used to be Kanye West’s creative director. He’s now the artistic director of menswear at Louis Vuitton. You may remember Virgil from the one good Kanye West moment of the past year when he and Virgil shared an emotional hug at the end of his debut Louis Vitton show. It was a big deal for a young black man, born of West African immigrants (Fun fact: my dad went to school with Virgil’s dad in Ghana), to be walking down the Louis Vuitton runway. It’s also a big deal for the current biggest fashion moment in tennis to be led by two African Americans.
In a statement to Vanity Fair, Virgil talked about Serena and what inspired The Queen Collection.
“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 symbolize her grace. It’s not about bells and whistles and tricks. It’s just about it living on the body, and expressing Serena’s spirit with each swing of the racket.”
When all of those racist piece of sh-ts critique Serena’s game, they barely talk about her grace or acknowledge her finesse. They would never refer to Serena as “ballerina-esque.” They focus on her power or aggression, which are two important components of Serena’s game but they are just two components. I love that Virgil is making a point to highlight Serena’s multifaceted athleticism and skill.
To Vogue, Serena explained what it is about Virgil’s designs she loves so much.
“When I first tried on the dress, I felt very strong and feminine at the same time. It has all the really strong elements, from the leather to that really cool stretchy material. I felt so feminine in the tutu, which is probably my favorite part of it. It really embodies what I always say: that you can be strong and beautiful at the same time.”
Serena Williams has her own fashion line (I own this sweat suit and I barely take it off) so I imagine that she’s very particular about what she chooses to put on her body. Virgil did her justice. Serena and Virgil are a winning match. Knock on wood.
