Naomi Osaka Rocks ‘Magical Girl’ Nike Outfit for 2024 U.S. Open

Naomi Osaka wasn’t the only one who came to play for the 2024 U.S. Open, which is being hosted in New York City. Her recent look came to serve, and it devoured. 

Naomi Osaka, who is known to be a bit of a fashionista, revealed a custom Nike tennis kit for this year’s tournament. The outfit was designed by fashion designer Yoon Ahn, and inspiration was taken from the Harajuku district, which is close to Tokyo. Harajuku fashion is known for young driver street fashion and cosplay shops, so Naomi Osaka’s set is naturally adorned with bows, ribbons, and tons of frills.

According to Nike, an apparel collection from the Nike Women by Yoon is launching at the same time. The collection features a new take on old-school, tennis-inspired looks, and is designed for the risk-takers. 

The Nike Women by Yoon collection will be available across the Nike website and select Nike retail stores beginning August 27.

“The inspiration that fueled the look for me — and this might be a Japanese term — is feeling like a ‘magical girl’ on the court,” Naomi Osaka said in an interview for the Nike website. “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.”

Moreover, Yoon Ahn is one of Tokyo’s premier style icons, known in the fashion and music world, from underground kids to presidents of multi-million-dollar corporations. Her designs and those of her partner Verbal have been featured in campaigns for Louis Vuitton and Doc Martins. In 2002, the couple created Ambush Design Company as a design outlet for Yoon, under which she designed album artwork for several artists, including Verbal.

In 2004 they founded a couture jewelry line called Antonio Murphy & Astro — Kanye West was seen wearing their designs shortly after it was launched. In April 2018, Yoon was appointed jewelry designer at Dior Men following Kim Jones’ appointment to the brand.

According to the Business of Fashion, Yoon Ahn and Verbal established their second line, Ambush, which was an instant success. Initially designing giant gold chains, gold metal chokers, and handmade gold chain-mail hoodies, the line quickly developed more conceptual themes for each collection, such as “Nomad” or “Holy Mountain.” Their Autumn/Winter 2015 collection was shown outside of Japan for the very first time at the Joyce Gallery in Hong Kong. The collection was a modern take on American Southwestern jewelry and was inspired by The Beatles’ White Album. Alongside their jewelry label, the duo runs a consultancy agency that has worked on projects with brands such as Beats by Dre and the e-commerce site Rakuten.

While the set is a showstopper, Naomi Osaka won’t be playing in the outfit. The outer layer with the bow and frills will come off for a more traditional look often seen in a tennis set. However, the bow will stay. 

“We live in a girls’ world, and I wanted to embody that in Naomi’s on-court look as well as the collection,” Yoon Ahn told the Nike brand for their website. “For Naomi’s look, she brought forward a vision and it was my job as a designer to create something that she’ll feel confident and comfortable in when she walks onto the court, allowing her to bring 100% of herself. The collection is an extension of that idea, allowing women to bring out their character and enhance their own personal styles.”

Naomi Osaka will begin her run in the 2024 U.S. Open on August 27, against No. 10 seed Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia on the court at the Louis Armstrong Stadium. The main draw of the US Open will start on August 26 while the qualifiers continue through the week. 

The Women’s Final will be held on September 7, with the Men’s Final on the following day, according to The Athlete Lifestyle.