The post, which features Off-White’s signature text overlaid on a Nike Swoosh, reads: "Virgil Abloh for Serena Williams 'QUEEN'", and is, quite simply, captioned with the tennis ball emoji in quotation marks.
Cryptic? Not enough to outsmart the legions of Abloh fans, who live for the thrill of unannounced street and sportswear drops such as these. The fact that the NikeCourt account, which is dedicated to tennis performance wear, had been tagged was quickly identified, as well as the date of the post. The Off-White x Nike x Serena Williams announcement hit feeds two weeks before the beginning of the US Open on August 27 – just enough time for the hype to reach fever pitch for Williams’s court-side debut of the product.
And so, the day after setting Instagram alight, Nike sent out a press release confirming the union of "two transcendent figures – Serena Williams and Virgil Abloh – who find common ground in pushing boundaries and inspiring youth". The "look" that Williams will premiere at Flushing Meadows consists of a black one-shouldered dress with full tulle skirt, a pair of customised Nike Court Flare sneakers and an off-court jacket. Iterations of each, including the below lilac dress, will be available to purchase at select Nike stores worldwide at the end of August.
"What I love about tennis is the gracefulness. It's an aggressive and powerful game, but it takes touch and finesse," Abloh comments on Nike's in-house newswire. “So the dress is feminine, but combines her aggression. It's partially revealing. It's asymmetrical. It has a sort of ballerina-esque silhouette to symbolise her grace. It's not about bells and whistles and tricks. It's just about it living on the body, and expressing Serena’s spirit with each swing of the racket."
Abloh has a comprehensive knowledge of Nike’s archive, after he reimagined 10 trainers from the core brand, and Nike-owned brands Converse and Jordan, in 2017. At the time, the designer said of “The Ten” project: “It’s larger than design culture. These 10 shoes have broken barriers in performance and style. To me, they are on the same level as a sculpture of David or the Mona.”
Williams’s relationship with the sportswear giant goes back 15 years. In 2003, Nike signed the then 22-year-old tennis champion to an endorsement deal that made her one of the world's highest-paid female athletes. The contract simultaneously bolstered the brand's presence in the women’s sportswear market and Williams’s personal brand away off the court. The “QUEEN” trainer style is the latest step in this mutually-beneficial journey.
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