Tennis legend Serena Williams is a GOAT on the court and off. Her latest S by Serena Spring 2020 Collection focuses on vegan leather and animal prints.
Serena Williams is one of the greatest tennis players to ever play the game. She’s got the second-most Grand Slam titles for a woman (23 and counting). And she’s not done yet. The mom to two-and-a-half-year-old Alexis Olympia is also a fashion icon (she actually went to fashion school in 2000). And she took to New York Fashion Week earlier this month to launch her newest S by Serena collection, including a vegan leather range.
The S by Serena Spring 2020 collection features on-point dresses, pantsuits, and jumpsuits in vegan leather and bold prints. Williams says the new collection is a “fashion passport.” She was inspired by her travels around the world, in particular, by Africa.
“That’s where I got the giraffe print from,” she told Essence. “I just feel like giraffe is the new leopard—I mean, at least I’m trying to make it the new leopard!” Williams told Vogue about her favorite design. “I am loving it.”
Williams also says she was extremely motivated to include vegan leather in this collection. “I feel like a lot of things are being killed and we’re not saving the earth,” she said. “We can all just do one small thing and help out so that was also a lot of our inspiration.”
The collection also gives another nod toward the planet with a bold emphasis on green, the de facto color of environmentalism. “One of the hottest colors this year on the runway for spring and summer is green,” Williams said.
‘Women Are Superheroes’
Williams herself eats a mostly vegan diet. Her husband, Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian, is also vegan.
“My first come-to-Jesus moment was when we found out that Serena was pregnant,” he told GQ. “That’s when it really hit me. I don’t want to be an unhealthy, lethargic dad when Olympia wants to practice soccer in the backyard.”
Ohanian says things really changed after he watched an early cut of “The Game Changers.” He was so impressed by the film, which busts the myth that athletes need meat, that he signed on as an executive producer. “Around the same time, I tried the Impossible Burger, and I was like, ‘Damn! This is good!’ It wasn’t long after that I invested in it. Now I’m whole-hog, so to speak, on the plant-based revolution.”
Williams’ says her outlook changed too after their daughter’s birth. And it has informed her designs.
“After having a child, I was like, ‘My heroes are moms.’ Women are superheroes. To have a baby and have to go work two weeks later or three weeks later, or even to go to a 9 to 5 [is incredible],” she said to Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour.
“For me, it’s all about creating that message of inclusivity, and inclusivity is everything.”
Serena Williams: My Latest Fashion Collection Is Inspired by Africa
23 time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams says her latest fashion collection which she debuted at the New York Fashion Week was inspired by Africa, in an interview to Essence. Williams, who displayed her first collection last September in New York, commented, “I was thinking of some of my favorite places to travel, which ultimately when I thought about it, was Africa.
That’s where I got the giraffe print from. And then also the vegan leather because I feel like a lot of things are being killed and we’re not saving the earth. We can all just do one small thing and help out so that was also a lot of our inspiration.
I just wanted to do something different and September was more runway. And this was about the designer. A lot of people don’t understand designers and what we think about, but I wanted people to know where I came from. I’ve actually been designing for years and went to school for it.
It’s not just something I upped and was like, “Oh, I want to design”. It’s like, “No, I actually studied it,” and so I think it’s really important.” Williams said she also wanted a more intimate setting for the show.
“It was very few celebrities here, just some of my closest friends. I wanted to focus on the media because they have helped the brand out a lot and also I wanted them to feel special. This is about them, not necessarily the pizazz and all the lights and the cameras.”
Williams is currently ranked No. 9 in the world and besides her tennis and fashion, she has also been working on several other projects including her campaigns for gender equality in sport and bringing the spotlight to the issues faced by working mothers.
