Serena Williams, David Beckham and 3 other superstar athletes who launched their own fashion collections
It’s hard to imagine what contemporary fashion would look like without the chic comfort of athleisure. With fitness so integrated to the modern lifestyle, who would know better about the kinds of cuts, silhouettes and fabrics that can help enhance one’s performance in daily life, than athletes?
Their gruelling physical training already gives them a deeper understanding of the human body. With the access to designers, brands and stylists that their well-earned celebrity status affords them, these five elite athletes also have their fingers on the pulse of the style scene. No surprise, then, that they’ve made their pitch for fashion with collections that have worked well both on and off court, on and off the field.
Naomi Osaka
The 22-year-old two-time Grand Slam champion made her fashion debut in February with a five-piece collection that was presented during Japanese label Adeam’s New York Fashion Week show.
The Naomi Osaka collection, which will be available at Adeam’s e-commerce site, features pieces that mix youthful romanticism with clean tailoring. They reflect Osaka’s multicultural style, which she has described as “a bit too crazy for America, but a bit too timid for Japan”.
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Serena Williams
Cultivating confidence, especially among women, is at the heart of the multi-hyphenate Williams’ two-year-old eponymous label.
Serena prides itself on its inclusivity, with the sizes ranging from XS to 3X and the styles covering every modern woman’s need, from sporty loungewear to sleek dresses for the evening, including accessories. The tennis icon recently presented her spring 2020 collection at New York Fashion Week.
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David Beckham
Though he retired from playing soccer in 2013, Beckham’s career trajectory is a prime example of how sports and fashion can combine perfectly. Since 2015, he has been creatively involved as the part-owner of Kent & Curwen, working in product development, advertising and store design. In 2018, the British heritage label released a collection that was highly inspired by Becks’ personal style, featuring both impeccably tailored outerwear and more contemporary sporty jumpers and rugby shirts.
Misty Copeland
The history-making and boundary-breaking ballerina has had a relationship with Under Armour since 2017, solidified through the creation of several collections inspired by Copeland’s strength, grace and advocacy for female empowerment.
The line elevates workout gear both in terms of form and function, making the items equally suitable as stylish streetwear layering pieces.
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Dwyane Wade
As a Fashion Week regular and one of the best-dressed male athletes around, the Miami Heat point guard shared his fashion vision through a capsule collection that he made in collaboration with Dsquared2 in 2017. The nine pieces presented a more elegant vision of streetwear, with biker and tuxedo jackets layered over shirts and tapered joggers, and the combination of leather, denim, wool, nylon and cotton creating textual interest. This creative partnership had its roots in 2014, when Wade wore a custom-made Dsquared2 tuxedo to his wedding with actress Gabrielle Union.
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Sports celebrities from Dwyane Wade to Naomi Osaka have mined their influence and milked their success to branch out into fashion