Published on : 02/09/2022 – 22:02Modified : 02/09/2022 – 22:00
New York (AFP) – Black, diamonds, a publicity stunt for her jewelry brand: for what might be her last tournament, at the US Open, the outfit worn by Serena Williams, tennis queen, businesswoman and fashion figure , as usual, owes nothing to chance.
Designed for evening matches, this sparkling look, with a skirt and a kind of bodice on long transparent sleeves, seems almost classic for the one who has multiplied original outfits over the course of her long career, wanting to break the codes and attract praise or critics, as at Roland-Garros 2018 with its all-over, tight-fitting black jumpsuit.
A businesswoman even before she put away the rackets, Serena Williams, 40, is also at the head of a clothing brand (“S By Serena”), a jewelry line (“Serena Williams Jewelry” ) and an investment fund specializing in start-ups, (“Serena Ventures”). Forbes estimates her net worth at $260 million, making her the richest female sportswoman of all time, according to the magazine.
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According to Nike, her equipment supplier, the American participated in the latest creation for the New York tournament, drawing inspiration from the “graceful competition outfits worn by figure skaters”.
The black petticoat features six layers, like so many US Opens won in her career, while the bodice studded with gleaming crystals recalls the “tournament night sky”, according to Nike.
Serena Williams put her touch to it. On the black shoes, in addition to the famous diamond-encrusted comma, the laces are topped with small jewels of its own brand, “hand-set with 400 black ceramic diamonds” where the words “QUEEN” or “MAMA” appear. An allusion to her role as a mother that she proudly highlights since the birth of Olympia, the daughter she had with one of the founders of the social network Reddit, Alexis Ohanian.
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Similar copies of these lace jewels, called “deubrés”, are already on sale on the player’s brand site.
Beyond her outfits on the courts, the American at the 23 Grand Slam tournaments has often displayed herself as a figure of fashion, whether in the pages of Vogue, where she announced her next retirement from sport, on the steps from the Met Gala in New York, or on the Fashion Week catwalks, as in February in Paris when she paraded in tribute to the deceased American designer Virgil Abloh.
© 2022 AFP