Naomi Osaka turned heads at tennis’s Australian Open when she took to the court for her first-round match wearing a long, flowing outfit – accompanied by a custom hat and parasol – inspired by reading her daughter a story about jellyfish. Created with sports brand Nike and designer Robert Wun, it further cemented four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka’s reputation as one of sport’s most fashion-conscious stars.
The reaction to Osaka’s outfit, which has drawn both admiration and criticism, also got us thinking about the intersections between sport and fashion. How do these two spheres influence each other, and are they becoming more closely linked?
Sheena Butler-Young is a senior correspondent for fashion industry news site The Business of Fashion. She tells Sophia Hartley why she believes the two industries have never been more aligned.
Melissa Anglesea is the creative director of Suzi Wong, the British sportswear company who’ve created custom outfits for many of boxing’s biggest names, including Tyson Fury and Amir Khan. She explains how the creative process works when collaborating with the world’s best fighters.
Every Monday to Friday, More than the Score tells stories beyond the scoreline from all over the world of sport. From the Winter Olympics to the Super Bowl, the Australian Open to the Diamond League, and netball to Formula 1. We’ve got interviews with extraordinary athletes like Ivory Coast legend Yaya Toure, globetrotting boxer Ellie Bouttell and cycling sprint king Harrie Lavreysen, as well as the experts working behind the scenes, from the referees who run VAR to the coaches keeping athletes in peak form. Plus, we’ve got the expertise of the BBC’s top journalists, who share their insights from decades of covering sport at all levels. And if you’ve got your own take on the stories we cover, we’d love to hear from you. Email morethanthescore@bbc.co.uk, or WhatsApp us on 0044 800 032 0470. You can find more information, along with our privacy notice, on our website: www.bbcworldservice.com/morethanthescore
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