At Wimbledon, tennis whites are a requirement.
But Naomi Osaka isn’t letting the classic dress code get in the way of her iconic fashion-forward looks.
The tennis player appeared on the court at the British tennis open on Monday wearing a custom Hana Yagi outfit before the Grand Slam at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London.
The Toyko-based designer crafted a coat for Osaka that was modeled after a traditional Japanese ceremonial dress, featuring a wrap silhouette with wide obi belt. The opaque fabric reached mid-thigh with cascading sheer ruffles falling from the hem to the floor.
In the spirit of courtside couture, Yagi embroidered the material with cranes and cherry blossoms.
Osaka’s hair was pulled into a tight bun at the top of her head, adorned with white flowers.
The tennis player looked to Japanese brand Mikimoto for her jewelry, wearing a pair of diamond and pearl drop earrings ($6,000) and two matching diamond and pearl bangles ($16,000 each).
Osaka also shared both a video as well as two slideshows of the outfit from all angles, revealing that the inspiration behind the look also came from Lucy Liu’s character in “Kill Bill,” captioning the post (which included a pic of her fight scene), “Silly rabbit.”
Using her Japanese heritage as inspiration, Osaka told Vogue “I like to use fashion as a medium for storytelling,” adding, “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.”
Wimbledon is a tournament that is more steeped in tradition than most, sartorially evidenced by their age-old tennis whites requirement.
Speaking with the publication, Osaka’s stylist Marty Harper explained, “It’s one of the few places in sport where ceremony still feels inseparable from competition,” continuing, “We wanted to acknowledge that while creating a dialogue with Japanese ceremonial dress.”
Not only did they look to time-honored designs in the garment’s inspiration, but they also used vintage shiromuku, which are traditional Japanese bridal garments, wedding gowns and antique kimonos to craft it.
Once she was ready to put her racket in her hand, she slipped out of her walk-out look which revealed a sporty white Nike look underneath.
Fashion-lover Osaka has made it her signature to walk onto the court wearing head-turning couture.
Last month’s French Open called for sequins and ruffles, while January’s Australian Open produced a jellyfish outfit inspired by her daughter. We can’t wait to see what else she has in store for London.
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