Inspiration can come from anywhere for anything, on the tennis court as much as in a latex design studio. Whatever your art happens to be, what you get from the world around you so often bleeds into what you make, sometimes so subconsciously that you might not even be aware of it.
And sometimes, what you choose is more deliberate.
Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osakha, well known for her inspired courtside sartorial choices, took to a Wimbledon court at the beginning of the week wearing a ceremonial Japanese dress, called a furisode ((振袖). This type of formal kimono sports flowing sleeves ranging from 85 to 114 cm in length. The all-white outfit honored Osaka’s heritage, as kept to the granddaddy tennis match’s tradition of monochrome white dresses.
There have certainly been plenty of challenges to tennis court styles, from Coco Gauff’s asymmetrical waistband skirt a year ago, Serena Williams at the 2018 French Open in her postpartum-blood-circulation-aiding jumpsuit (and so many more turns from the star and her sister) to Anne White’s all-white spandex catsuit at Wimbledon in 1985. Looking back at Naomi Osaka’s inspirational on-court couture, we see that two years ago she wore bright neon ruffles and bows for her appearance at the U.S. Open, and at the beginning of the year she wore a jellyfish-inspired outfit at the Australian Open. She also donned sparkling couture at this year’s French Open.
In response to the criticism she often receives for her interesting court fashions, Naomi reminds us that “athletes are in show business.”
Having lived for many years in Japan, we have always proudly admitted to the strong Asian influences you see often reflected in our designs. Surely not our only inspiration, still our latex kimonos were some of the earliest designs we created, and we will always be ever so proud of them. So, we are as much in step with Osaka wanting to honor her heritage and traditions as in agreement when she says that for her, the most iconic of all silhouettes is indeed the kimono.
She certainly inspires us with her style.
