Japan’s Naomi Osaka (28) turned heads at Wimbledon on Monday with a spectacular entrance wearing a kimono-inspired ceremonial dress before her first-round match.
The four-time Grand Slam champion arrived on Court Three dressed in a white kimono-style outfit decorated with embroidered cranes and cherry blossom, paired with a traditional kanzashi hair ornament featuring white flowers.
After the ceremonial entrance, Osaka removed the outfit to reveal a white Nike dress inspired by kirigami, the Japanese art of paper cutting, meeting the All England Club’s strict all-white dress code for her match against France’s Elsa Jacquemot.
Osaka has become known for her flamboyant pre-match outfits and worked with Japanese designer Hana Yagi on the Wimbledon costume. She posted a video of the dress accompanied by the caption “Culture”.
The former world number one revealed the outfit was inspired by the Quentin Tarantino film Kill Bill.
“I think about my cultures, my heritage, which is Japanese and Haitian. Then if I dive deeper into Japanese culture, I think about the most iconic silhouette, which for me is a kimono,” she said.
“I love Kill Bill. I remembered absolutely falling in love with Lucy Liu’s character. She has an all-white kimono, and I remember thinking that was really cool and amazing. It was my interpretation of that while also paying a lot of respect and love to Japan.”
The costume sparked conversation in the Wimbledon locker room, with other players asking practical questions about the all-white outfit.
“I got asked if I only have one, because it’s all white, and what happens if I stain it,” Osaka said. “Some people were like, is it against the rules if you dye it, and then is that considered not wearing all white? A lot of people had different interesting questions.”
Osaka has previously collaborated with fashion designers on her Grand Slam outfits, wearing a jellyfish-modelled look at the Australian Open dedicated to her daughter Shai and a gold dress inspired by the Eiffel Tower at the French Open.
The Japanese star admitted the attention-grabbing outfit added pressure to perform.
“I wouldn’t say it eases my nerves to wear these outfits because a little part of my mind wants to do well so I can continue wearing them,” she said. “Obviously, you don’t want to wear a ball gown and lose in the first round. That does cross my mind a little bit. But if it entertains people, it entertains people.”
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