23-year-old tennis prodigy Naomi Osaka had an amazing 2020, finishing as the highest-paid athlete in history. She graced the cover of Vogue for January in a Louis Vuitton dress. Now, Osaka has been named house brand ambassador for the French label, Louis Vuitton. The announcement came with stunning and picturesque photos from the shoot.
There is no doubt about Osaka’s strong fashion sense which pours through the campaign photos released with the announcement. The photos were shot by artistic director Nicolas Ghesquière for his new collection. Osaka wears a colorful dress with bold prints that are made to fit for tennis Queen.
The three-time Grand Slam winner says she is honored to be the brand ambassador for the fashion house and is set to feature in their Spring-Summer 2021 campaign.
“Wow this is actually crazy,” the Japanese star wrote on both her Twitter and Instagram accounts. “Honored to be @LouisVuitton newest House Ambassador.
“Funny story: I first bought my mom an LV bag when I was 16 as a birthday present and it’s kinda been a tradition since. Do I call this a full circle moment? Yes.”
To Louis Vuitton, Osaka is a “multi-faceted, independent and modern,” and “perfectly incarnating the Louis Vuitton woman”, which is rightly so.
She is a role model for many young people. Ghesquière described Osaka as “an exceptional young woman who represents her generation and is a role model for everyone” in an Instagram post.
The Haitian-Japanese recently used her platform to advocate for the lives of the seven people killed by police brutality by donning masks in each of her matches where she won the US Open representing Japan.
Ghesquière added that “her career and convictions are inspiring and I am in awe of Naomi. She stays true to herself and doesn’t compromise on her values. I am looking forward to sharing new projects with Naomi in the year to come!”
The style icon in the making knows how to represent herself in any given space, be it her Japanese or Haitian side. She collaborated with the Japanese label ADEAM at New York Fashion Week last spring.
She is also known to pay tribute to her Haitian side by wearing the iconic Kente head wrap among others. Osaka admits fashion is her second love as tennis is obviously her first.
“Aside from tennis, my most treasured passion is fashion, and there is no brand more iconic than Louis Vuitton,” said Osaka.
“It is such an honor to work with Nicolas—he’s a designer I admire so much and we share a mutual love of Japanese culture and style. To become a global brand ambassador is truly a dream come true for me.”
While the world will not be seeing Osaka flaunt her skills at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics which has been postponed, there is certainly some anticipation for her new and future collaborations with the iconic fashion house, Louis Vuitton.
