Serena Williams Will Wear Off-White To The US Open

Virgil Abloh isn’t letting his new job as the artistic director of menswear at Louis Vuitton keep him from pumping out those collaborations. On Monday, Nike announced Abloh will dress Serena Williams in Off-White when she plays in the US Open tennis tournament, in pieces from an aptly-titled The Queen Collection.

“With Serena, we have one of our generation’s most powerful, inspiring athletes as the muse,” Abloh said in a press release. “I was trying to embody her spirit and bring something compelling and fresh to tennis.” This is the first time Abloh has worked with a tennis dress, an unfamiliar fabric for Kanye West’s protégé, but says he was inspired by the ballet, resulting in the tutu-like skirt. To make sure Abloh’s Off-White collection was, in fact, fit for a queen, Nike created a custom dress form based on Williams’ body for the designer to use.

“What I love about tennis is the gracefulness. It's an aggressive and powerful game, but it takes touch and finesse,” Abloh continued. “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.”

And Williams loves it: “When I first tried on the dress, I felt very strong and feminine at the same time,” she told Vogue. “It has all the really strong elements, from the leather to that really cool stretchy material. I felt so feminine in the tutu, which is probably my favourite part of it. It really embodies what I always say: that you can be strong and beautiful at the same time.”

In addition to two versions of Williams’ tennis dress (one for day, one for night), Abloh also designed a bomber jacket, a bag, the NikeCourt Flare 2, and limited editions of The 10: Nike Air Max 97 and The 10: Nike Blazer Mid SW. Click ahead for a sneak peek of the offering.