Serena Williams doesn’t do things by halves. When she unveiled her namesake clothing line, Serena, back in May, the tennis legend realized there was one important element missing from the range: options for sizes over XL. Rather than rush and risk bringing a subpar product to market, Williams decided to take the time to pursue perfection. “We wanted to do this the right way,” said Williams speaking over the phone from Miami, where she was hosting her first pop-up at Art Basel. “We started from scratch and went back to the drawing board. We wanted to use plus-size fit models and for those models to feel like the clothes were made just for them, and not [merely] extended.” That extra effort resulted in her newly launched collection, Great, a lineup of all occasion pieces that can take the wearer from the gym to date night in luxurious style.
Eschewing the word “plus” in favor of a more uplifting adjective, Williams is seeking to make her customers look and feel their absolute best. Offered up to a 3X, the line—which will be available from today at Dallas-based concept shop Neighborhood Goods—joins the new wave of premium design geared toward consumers who wear larger sizes. As a fashion icon whose outfits make headlines on and off the court, Williams was passionate about having the best in materials and fit. “When I want a quality shirt, I go to a higher-end department store and it’s going to be, like, $495,” says Williams. “So it was important for us to have that exact same quality but to keep everything under $200.”
If quality serves as the line’s guiding principle, then ease of wear is a close second. With leggings aplenty and dressed-up essentials including a lace tracksuit, the offerings skew comfortable, a must for new mom Williams. Since welcoming her daughter, Alexis Olympia, into the world last year, she admits her style priorities have shifted. “I’m not wearing shirts as tight as I used to,” she says with a laugh. “Your body changes as a mom, and I absolutely love my body and I’m happy to embrace it, but also, I definitely feel like my fashions have changed.” The evolution means she’s now more likely to reach for relaxed pieces, though Williams still likes to nurture her inner glamour puss. “I want to be the mom who kind of walks around just looking fabulous,” she says.
That sense of confidence is something she hopes the women who wear Great will also feel. Sweaters and tops emblazoned with the slogans such as “I am strong, I am beautiful” and “be seen, be heard” speak to Williams’s empowering vision. “There are different statements throughout [and] they’re really just about being yourself, and being proud of that, and being unapologetically you,” she says. “[As women,] I think it’s important to give ourselves a pat on the back, because we don’t do that enough. We’re always a little critical, but it’s crucial to not only lift each other up, but also look in the mirror and lift yourself up.”
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