Venus Williams has relaunched her defunct clothing line, EleVen by Venus Williams, four years after it was forced off shelves due to retailer Steve & Barry’s bankruptcy. The new colour-filled athletic EleVen Fashion Label range, unveiled for the first time yesterday, features a form-fitting dress, tops, bottoms and crop-top style bras. A men’s range under the same brand will feature T-shirts and shorts.
According to what the former world No. 1 tennis player told journalists at Miami’s Bath Club. She was inspired by her love for ‘art and watercolour’, and has incorporated her own original prints into the Spring 2012 collection. She has also added ‘unexpected extras’ into her designs, such as a small rose-gold metal charm which dangles from a selection of camisoles and tanks.
In Miss Williams’ website description of her geometric prints, she cited Derek Lam and Cynthia Rowley as inspiration, hailing them ‘textile specialists’. Even though most of the collection has been stitched with spandex jersey and polyester, Miss Williams has also designed some V-neck tees made from 100per cent jersey.
Having secured seven Grand Slam singles titles, the 31 year-old has obviously brought her passion for tennis to the drawing board. One print, which features the phrase, ‘Oh and Oh’, is a play on the game’s scoring system. Ms Williams is set to showcase a collection from her line in Miami this week when she competes in the Sony Ericsson Open. While she remains one of the sport’s most successful and colourful fixtures, it looks like Miss Williams is determined to also seek success in fashion. She holds a degree in Fashion Design from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale and said she has always wanted to design ready-to-wear and sports apparel.
Miss Williams added that although her younger sister Serena isn’t expected to wear her designs.
‘No, she’s got to wear Nike,’ she told journalists. EleVen by Venus Williams will soon be available to budding tennis champions at department and speciality stores throughout the States. But the ultimate goal? According to Ms Williams is that, ‘Our next step is to show other players wearing it.’