Serena Williams retires in style.
The tennis legend took to her Instagram Stories on Wednesday to reveal four new pairs of custom sneakers that Nike donated to her in honor of some of her “memorable moments,” and one of the styles pays tribute to another icon: the late Off- White fashion designer Virgil Abloh.
“Oh my god, it’s nothing short of the Virgil outfit,” Williams said, unpacking her light purple Nikes with neon green accents.
“I love Virgil so much and I still do. Will always.”
The shoes were a touching gift for Williams, whose friend Abloh – the first black creative director at Louis Vuitton – died last year at the age of 41 from a rare cancer.
“Okay, so this is his shoe,” she said, giving fans a look at the stylish sneakers that feature “Serena” in Abloh’s signature quotes on a small green label on the side, along with a shiny silver Nike swoosh trimmed off. with neon stitching.
“And this is the tutu, which I’m obsessed with and will always be obsessed with,” Williams added, showing a photo of the Abloh-designed lavender look she wore to the 2018 US Open.
Williams also wore a black version of the ballet-inspired look to the tennis tournament, speaking about her fondness for the Off-White x Nike’ fits during a panel with Vogue’s Anna Wintour in early 2020.
“My favorite things in life are tutus,” she said at the time. “The tutu look with Virgil. I kept all those dresses. And sometimes I wear them.”
In addition to the shoes inspired by the Off-White designer, Williams received three other pairs from Nike that were based on some of her other famous tennis outfits — including a bold color-blocked set based on her asymmetrical Florence Griffith Joyner-style catsuit. of the 2021 Australian Open, which she described as her “favorite.”
Another symbolic fashion moment for the tennis star came on Monday night, when Williams wore a tailored Nike dress with many meaningful nods to her career.
Along with her latest US Open, the mother of one made headlines last week when she discussed women and ambition on the first episode of Meghan Markle’s new podcast, “Archetypes” — and even though she’s closing out her tennis career, we have a feeling we’re still going. hear a lot more about the tennis violence.