Tennis Star Naomi Osaka Hits an Ace With Her First Capsule Collection
Everyone knows that Naomi Osaka is incredibly shy. The 22-year-old top-ranked tennis player and two-time Grand Slam champion (who will represent Japan in the Summer Olympics in Tokyo this year) looks reserved and disciplined on the court—but she has a bold, creative side that she rarely shows.
Osaka is a bit of a fashion nerd. As a child, she used to design clothes alongside her sister Mari, who can sketch. Now, she is turning her passion into a real-life project thanks to Japanese designer Hanako Maeda and her label ADEAM. Shown for the first time yesterday on the runway at ADEAM’s fall 2020 show, the Naomi Osaka collection, which will be sold on the newly launched ADEAM e-commerce site, includes five items, from a strapless gown designed with a navy pinstripe fabric and pretty tulle to a white-tank-and-skirt combo with angular hemlines and black lace paneling throughout. Osaka’s collection, co-designed with Maeda (and with some sketching help from her sister), blends “traditional and modern Japanese elements,” she said, with classic origami-like draping and more contemporary “kawaii”-style ruffles. “It’s both feminine and something that I would personally wear…I really felt like this represented me and my style both on and off the court,” she said.
Although she has admired fashion shows from afar, Monday’s event was the first time Osaka had ever been to a runway presentation. “I’m nervous,” Osaka said stone-faced while backstage just minutes before taking her seat in the front row. “Nervous but excited to see the collection on the runway.” Osaka wore a blue-and-white belted shirtdress from her capsule and accessorized with sculptural jewelry from ADEAM. As she sat, quietly watching the models traverse the white-foam-covered runway inside the High Line Hotel, Osaka began to beam with a sweet smile as her designs appeared during the finale. She took a bow with Maeda, and it was clear that, next to tennis, fashion really is her second love. As she proudly mentioned post-show, “Each piece is like its own little work of art.”
Below, a behind-the-scenes look at how Naomi Osaka got ready for her big New York Fashion Week debut.
Photo: Samantha Brown, courtesy of Naomi Osaka1/7“All smiles (and some butterflies!) getting ready to show my first collection ever at NYFW. I fueled up just before getting in the hair and makeup chair with smoked salmon, which is one of my favorite things to eat for breakfast.”
Photo: Samantha Brown, courtesy of Naomi Osaka2/7“On the way to the show, and kind of nervous!”
Photo: Samantha Brown, courtesy of Naomi Osaka3/7“This photo makes me wonder: Is there ever a glamorous way to exit an SUV in heels and a dress? I’m wearing one of my favorite looks from the ADEAM x Naomi Osaka collaboration, ready to share the stage with the amazing Hanako Maeda. Happy the rain held off until we got inside.”
Photo: Samantha Brown, courtesy of Naomi Osaka4/7“Nothing like a high, snatched braid and great lighting to start off my first day of NYFW. You don’t even want to know how much hairspray we used on this hair, but I loved it.”
Photo: Samantha Brown, courtesy of Naomi Osaka5/7“Sitting front row felt like a dream come true; thank you to all the guests who came to support.”