When Naomi Osaka walked into Rod Laver Arena at the Australian Open wearing a floor-length jellyfish-inspired outfit and hat, there was a seismic shift in tennis fashion.
Gliding onto centre court with the intensity of an assassin in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill movies, the former world number one appeared to be lost. The Melbourne Cup was two months ago and a hat with a veil, pleated mini-skirt and wide-legged pants with a matching parasol would even raise micro-bladed eyebrows in the fashion free-for-all in the Birdcage at Flemington Racecourse.
Naomi Osaka steps out at the Australian Open wearing an outfit inspired by jellyfish with a touch of butterfly. It was designed by the player, couturier Robert Wun and Nike.Credit: Getty Images
Osaka’s purpose became clear as the tendrils on her turquoise tie-dye dress moved in time with gasps from the crowd. After years of tennis WAGs and celebrities in sponsored outfits stealing the spotlight, the 28-year-old had shifted the fashion focus back to the players.
Naomi Osaka steps out at the Australian Open wearing an outfit inspired by jellyfish with a touch of butterfly. It was designed by the player, couturier Robert Wun and Nike.
“So much of the time, other people get to write our stories for us,“ Osaka told US Vogue. “This felt like a moment where I could write a little bit of my own.”
The arresting outfit, designed by Osaka with Hong Kong-born, London-based designer Robert Wun and her sponsor Nike, was crammed with meaning.
Fabric butterflies on her hat and parasol were callbacks to when the most fashion-forward of insects landed on Osaka’s nose at the Australian Open in 2021. The vivid ruffles on her official Nike kit referenced jellyfish, which delight Osaka’s two-year-old daughter Shai.
The biggest statement, which could be registered from the nosebleed seats, was that Osaka loves dressing up and other players are following her approach with the same eagerness that Zara designers follow Paris Fashion Week.