Look of the Week: Naomi Osaka’s subversive US Open walk-on look reclaims girl power

(CNN) — For her highly-anticipated return to the US Open, Naomi Osaka is hoping to evoke a touch of magic. The 26-year-old tennis player’s new looks for the court might surprise you.

While modern tennis-wear is typically streamlined, Osaka’s walk-on skirt puffs out wide thanks to a tulle petticoat. In images released ahead of the tournament, she posed in high-shine black bomber jacket adorned with an oversized white bow. There’s a lighter, lime version, too, which she wore in her entrance for her first round against Jeļena Ostapenko. Though she removed the jacket to win the match, she still had bows to spare — one was knotted on the back of her vibrant green tiered skirt, and two more adorning the heels of her sneakers.

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

The frilly, coquettish look — which was custom created by designer Yoon Ahn for Nike —  is perhaps a kind of subversive armor for the Japanese star.

Since withdrawing from both the French Open and Wimbledon in 2021, and exiting the US Open at Round 3, the four-time Grand Slam singles champion has taken extended breaks from competitive tennis, prioritizing her mental health and then becoming a mother.

After losing in the qualifiers for the Cincinnati Open earlier this month, the player posted a vulnerable statement to Instagram revealing her internal struggles on the court since having her daughter, Shai, in July 2023.

“My biggest issue currently isn’t losses though, my biggest issue is that I don’t feel like I’m in my body,” she wrote to her 2.8 million followers. “It’s a strange feeling, missing balls I shouldn’t miss, hitting balls softer than I remember I used to… The only feeling I could liken how I feel right now is being postpartum.”

Despite these frustrations, Osaka said she sees the adjustment as a process and that she will continue to put in the work to get where she wants to be. She is playing the US Open for the first time since 2022.

According to Ahn, Osaka’s moodboard for the outfits was largely rooted in the “Lolita goth” community — a lacey, anime-inspired style of dressing that was popularized in 1990s Japan but continues to inspire young people around the world today, with over 31,000 posts on TikTok. “They go out and wear pink, frills, bows, lace,” Ahn told the New York Times. “It’s really about owning the cutesy-ness and the girly-hood.”

In the current fashion landscape, girlhood is having a moment. From the ribbon-laced hiking sneakers of the sold out Sandy Liang x Salomon collaboration to the high-fashion bows of Simone Rocha, Prada and Chanel — overt symbols of youthful femininity are no longer considered reductive or diminishing, but worn with pride and a wink.

“I wouldn’t automatically associate myself with being girlish when I’m on the court,” Osaka told the New York Times. “But I tend to gravitate toward really beautiful and cute things. I think there’s something quite cool in making that an emphasis, especially here in New York. In New York, the tennis court is more like a stage.”

And where there’s ribbon, there’s usually tulle. Just a few days ago, Vice President Kamala Harris’ stepdaughter Ella Emhoff made headlines for the baby blue and white tulle dress she wore on the last day of the Democratic National Convention. Standing alongside Harris’ goddaughter and niece, Emhoff’s frothy look signals a new form of power dressing: Brave in its rejection of expectation and traditional dress codes. Osaka, also embracing tulle, seems to be doing the same.

“We live in a girls’ world, and I wanted to embody that in Naomi’s on-court look,” Ahn said in the press release. The designer has also created a ready-to-wear line for Nike Women that is launching Tuesday. “The collection is an extension of that idea, allowing women to bring out their character and enhance their own personal styles.”

This story was updated with details of Osaka’s first tournament look.

CNN’s Jacqui Palumbo contributed to this report.

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