“Naomi Osaka is building her fashion empire.
The tennis pro just announced her latest collaboration — a limited-edition womenswear line in partnership with Levi’s — that pays homage to her Japanese heritage.
Available Aug. 24 in select Levi’s stores and on the brand’s app, the Levi’s x Naomi Osaka collection features four upcycled denim pieces: a kimono ($380), lace-up shorts ($150), crystal fringe shorts ($250) and a trucker jacket reimagined as a bustier top ($180).
“I always loved wearing kimonos when I was a kid. So, to be able to do it in denim felt really different and a bit unexpected,” Osaka said in a press release of the stand-out design, which includes a matching obi belt. “The sustainability aspect was super important to me. And I love that every piece in the collection has been recycled or repurposed from old stock.”
The four-time Grand Slam champion, who represented Japan at the 2020 Olympic Games, also stars in the campaign for the upcoming collaboration, modeling the denim pieces with sneakers and gold accessories to reflect her feminine-meets-sporty personal style.
In the Levi’s x Naomi Osaka collection campaign video, the athlete and activist shares that she and her sister (Mari Osaka, who is also a professional tennis player) used to spend “hours and hours on end” sketching designs. “It’s always been a thing for us,” Osaka says of her life-long love of fashion.
The star — who has collaborated on collections with Nike and Adeam and starred in Louis Vuitton and TAG Heuer ads — appeared in Levi’s “Beauty of Becoming” series earlier this year.
The powerful campaign and video highlighted the “journey of becoming” with an inspirational lineup of stars including Willow and Jaden Smith, 13 Reasons Why‘s Brandon Flynn, actress and model Leyna Bloom, celebrity stylist Karla Welch, activist Dolores Huerta, disability rights advocate Haben Girma, and Osaka, to name a few….”
View the whole story here: https://news.yahoo.com/naomi-osaka-designs-sustainable-levis-182852161.html