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.