Japanese tennis superstar Naomi Osaka moved on to the second round of the U.S. Open on Tuesday, wearing a ruffled athletic dress she said is inspired by magical girl fashion. It’s Osaka’s first appearance at the event in two years.
Osaka worked with Nike and fashion designer Yoon Ahn to create two different looks for the U.S. Open — one black, another green. Everything was designed with magical girl anime and Japanese Lolita fashion in mind, from the poofy ruffled skirts to the big oversized bows.
“The inspiration that fueled the look for me — and this might be a Japanese term — is feeling like a ‘magical girl’ on the court,” Osaka said in a news release. “There’s a moment of transformation for me when I walk onto the court, and I have a lot of fun playing, so wanting everyone who sees the outfit to connect with that feeling is a really big motivation for me.”
Osaka isn’t wearing the big skirts on the tennis court; the one with frills is specifically for the walk-on, just like the jacket and its huge bow. Osaka has an athletic tennis dress to wear during her matches, which also include frills and bows. The look is designed even down to her feet, where she’s donning socks and sneakers with bows. Osaka called fashion “almost like a super-suit” in an interview with The New York Times. Even her headphones, which she wore onto the court, are topped off with ruffles and beautiful bows.
Sailor Moon is one of the best known magical girl anime series, and one of the more iconic in general. But Cardcaptor Sakura seems like more of an inspiration for Osaka’s look, with its iconic dresses and big ol’ bows. Osaka’s walk-on black skirt, with the ruffled underlayer, is reminiscent of Sakura Kinomoto’s skirt in that series. The magical girl genre is known for its fashion, but most importantly, the role fashion it plays in characters’ powerful transformations.
“I really like the color green. I feel like it gives me peace and serenity. I think colors give you power,” Osaka told The New York Times. “For me, black is strength. For me, that’s the super-suit color. I feel a little bit like Black Panther.”
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