Osaka’s Stunning Wimbledon Whites Take Center Stage on Day 1
What would a Grand Slam be without a Naomi Osaka fashion statement? Something would feel amiss.
Today there was nothing missing as Osaka pulled out all the stops with a stunning walk on, the four-time major champion taking to Court 3 in a custom white outfit inspired by Japanese ceremonial dress.
“I like to use fashion as a medium for storytelling,” Osaka told British Vogue in a feature that rolled out in accordance with her 6-1, 7-5 first-round win over Elsa Jacquemot of France. “Every walk-out is an opportunity to bring people into my creative world.
“The fact that people care about it and are excited to see what’s next is also pretty cool.”
Here are some more details on her look, from Vogue:
Embroidered cranes stretch across the fabric. Cherry blossoms climb its surface. A dramatic trailing bow streams behind her, giving the silhouette an almost weightless quality before its layers peel away to reveal the Nike kit beneath. Finished with a traditional kanzashi hair ornament and Mikimoto jewelry, the ensemble transforms the walk from the locker room to the court into a fleeting performance of its own. Foots Okay, Grass Game Thriving
Osaka, who had to pull out of Saturday’s Bad Homburg final (her first on grass) with a foot injury, looks to have made a full recovery. She saved nine of ten break points and hit 34 winners to just 15 for her opponent.
The No.14 seed will face either Anastasia Gasanova or Emiliana Arango in the second round.
Regarding the foot, Osaka said: “It’s actually not my ankle, it’s the bottoms of my feet. I mean, it felt fine. In the mornings, it’s really stiff. I think it loosens up throughout the days.”
Osaka attributes her success on clay and grass this year (she reached the round of 16 at Roland Garros for the first time to the hard work she is doing with coach Tomas Wiktorowski. She says she is feeling more confident than ever on grass and hopes that the experience will help her confidence on all surfaces.
“I think my progression with grass has been really interesting. I would honestly say in my mind I think my relationship with clay was a lot better than my relationship with grass just because I feel like I’ve had a lot more matches on clay,” she said.
“But this year has been a positive for me. Obviously it’s still going and we’re still in this tournament. But I think movement-wise, confidence-wise, I’m feeling pretty optimistic. I just hope that it will help me go further in hard courts as well, the way that I’m playing here.”
A Nod to Kill Bill
Osaka says part of the inspiration for her look came from watching Lucy Liu in Quentin Tarantino’s film Kill Bill, among other things.
“If I dive deeper into like Japanese culture, I think about the most iconic silhouette, which for me is a kimono. You don’t have to see the color of a kimono to know that it is a kimono,” she said.
"I don't know, I was just thinking about my favorite movies also. I love Kill Bill. I remembered absolutely falling in love with Lucy Liu's character. She has an all-white kimono, and I remember thinking that was really cool and amazing. Then it just kind of went from there. It was like my interpretation of that while also paying a lot of respect and love to Japan."Osaka’s statement is act IV of a story that she started telling at this year’s Australian Open (jellyfish inspired ensemble), the Met Gala (Robert Wun, inspired by shedding skin in two parts) and Roland Garros (Kevin Germanier, gold sequins inspired by the Eiffel Tower at night).
Next stop, NYC, or maybe next round.
“I feel like on my end I like to shake things up. I try to mix it up every round,” Osaka said.
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