• Thu. Mar 28th, 2024

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Naomi Osaka to Wear Exclusive NikeCourt x sacai Apparel in Flushing

When Japan’s world No. 1, Naomi Osaka, takes the court to defend her title in New York, she’ll do so as the first athlete to wear exclusive NikeCourt x sacai performance apparel.

The Japanese fashion label, led by Chitose Abe, specializes in crafting arresting silhouettes through experiments in hybridity. Osaka’s outfit is no exception. Most evident: The doubled skirt adds depth and dimension to a tennis standard. More covert: The ensemble is formed with an eye to bridging tennis’ athletic present with its past traditions. From a distance, the two-piece outfit appears to be a dress; at closer glance, one sees an elegant articulation of a contemporary bodysuit.

Osaka’s look is fitting for the year’s final major. At the end of each summer the sporting world turns attention to Flushing, Queens for a major cemented as tennis’ premier convention-challenging event. It has, during the decades, affirmed the unique synergy of athleticism and style in tennis. Here, the drama of sport is matched by the vibrancy of costumes — performance apparel designed to ace individual play and character, while stimulating collective consciousness.