Project Runway
When she’s finished with tennis—and
maybe even before then—Williams aims
to position her business, Aneres, as a
leader in the fashion-design industry.
She’s famous, of course, for wearing her
own creations on the court and the red
carpet. Here’s her tailor-made assessment of a number of celebrities.
Oprah Winfrey:
“I love her style. She looks great in
anything she wears, and she wears her
clothes with such confidence. I’d put
her in a simple tan suit with a high waist.
Simple works good for her, and she’d
pull it off so well.”
Donald Trump:
“He always looks impeccable and knows
what kind of suit to wear with every situation. If I were advising him, I’d go with
Armani. You can’t go wrong with any
man in Armani. But you especially can’t
go wrong with Donald Trump in Armani.
You’ll have classic design lines while
keeping his assertive style.”
Tiger Woods:
“I want to see him in a hoodie. He’s
always so clean-cut looking. We need to
see another side of him.”
Serena Williams—
on Oscar night:
“Oh, if that ever happens, I’m going
for Valentino! It’s a classic. I love their
designs. Valentino always stands for
something very classy and very timeless,
and that’s what the Oscars are all about.”
Williams’ fashion line,
Aneres, features swim,
sport and formal-wear, as well as a new
cosmetics line.
come as a surprise that Williams would slip away from
center stage for a while. Her MIA status in 2006 was, by
her own admission, due to the need for a mental break
as much as for rehab on her knee. But Williams never
doubted that she’d return to the top. And she did—when
she was ready.
“It’s hard to predict which Serena you’ll see when she
plays, isn’t it?” says Larry Scott, CEO of the Sony Ericsson
WTA Tour. “She had such a down year in 2006, with injuries. Then she comes back in the Australian Open with
such a dramatic performance, absolutely dismantling
Maria the way she did. It was a remarkable accomplishment and a fantastic human interest st ory.”
JOHN RUSSO/CORBIS
As for the U.S. Open? She’s got a laser-beam lock on the
present. “What I did before has nothing to do with what
I’ll do now,” Williams says. “The Australian title is in the
past. I’m coming back as a competitor again. I’m hungry
for another title. When I’m in that frame of mind, that’s
when I do my best.”
As she speaks, she’s just finished a run, wearing a blue
and white Lycra workout outfit that she designed for
Nike. She still takes to jogging the streets of Los Angeles,
where she keeps an apartment, taking various routes in
the city to keep the routine from getting stale. She goes
off in any direction—on this day for a half-hour—and
eventually ends up at the gym.
