Fashion at the Sony Ericsson
Venus Williams and Fila Grace the Runway
Fashion and tennis merged this week at the Sony Ericsson Open as Fila, the official apparel of the Sony Ericsson Open, and EleVen by Venus Williams staged fashion shows at the tournament’s Fashion Park.
This is the fourth year that the Sony Ericsson Open has hosted fashion shows, adding a bit of Miami glamour to an already exciting tennis scene. Both shows this year had high energy and a carefree atmosphere as the models walked the runway amidst a record number of fans.
The EleVen show was especially fun, since it had the allure of Venus herself. Tennis fans had the opportunity to see and hear Venus as tennis great Mary Joe Fernandez conducted a Q & A prior to the models taking the stage. The runway show featured active lifestyle apparel, casual footwear and denim jeans and jackets.
“11 is about being better than 10,” said Venus. “My line is about feeling your best and looking your best.” And being the best is something that Venus clearly understands. She has won 36 WTA titles and six Grand Slams. Venus is also a global ambassador for UNESCO, a United Nations program established to address worldwide gender issues, and was Glamour Magazine’s “Woman of the Year” award recipient in 2005.
Now, Venus is working to be the best at fashion. EleVen is the largest fashion collection ever launched by a female athlete.
When asked about whether the fashion shows at the tournament did indeed make the Sony Ericsson Open tennis’ sexiest tournament, Venus replied, “It’s really special actually. Tennis and fashion go hand and hand for me, so it works just right. I think they’re doing something very special.”
Producing this year’s fashion shows is Timothy Johnson. This is the second year in a row that Johnson has overseen the tournament’s fashion events. “Both the Fila show and the EleVen show had better than expected turnouts,” he said. “The Fila show had triple the number of people than expected, while the EleVen show was a mob scene. It was Venus Williams, after all.”
The high numbers represented at the first two fashion shows echo an overall high attendance rate for the tournament as a whole. Four of the first six sessions had record-setting attendance.
Coming up next on Sony Ericsson’s fashion front are Blumarine on April 3, followed by the elite shops from the Village of Merrick Park on April 4. Both shows are expected to be fantastic.
Photos by Hellmund
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