As Wimbledon began this week, Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka made an entrance in the high style that has become her signature: an elaborate robe by Tokyo-based designer Hana Yagi, made from vintage kimonos and bridal gowns, over a white Nike tennis dress.
The designer said the one-two look was a marker of the almost sacred ceremony of preparing for competition, which is shed to reveal the game-ready gear. “I wanted the garment to exist as the moment before performance,” Yagi told Vogue. “The walk-on surrounds Naomi in ceremony, while the Nike kit represents the athlete in competition. I thought about them as two chapters within the same story.”
“I like to use fashion as a medium for storytelling,” Osaka added.
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