Looking stylish and playing well always fashionable

From Maria Sharapova helping design her latest little black dress to Alexander Zverev being reluctant to pull down his tube socks, US Open fashion statements are drawing plenty of attention.

It's a battle of clothing manufacturers Nike and Adidas with world-class action models displaying their style on the court and purchasers, not points, deciding the big apparel winners and losers.

Former world number one Sharapova made a triumphant Grand Slam return after a 15-month doping ban by downing second-ranked Simona Halep and will next face Hungary's Timea Babos in the second round Wednesday.

"Behind this little black dress and the Swarovski crystals, there is a girl with a lot of grit and she's not going anywhere," Sharapova vowed to the crowd after Monday's victory.

The sequin-spangled onyx frock with the Nike swoosh came from Sharapova's work with Italian fashion designer Riccardo Tisci.

"I got to personally meet Riccardo," she said. "It was an incredible experience because just me and him sitting at my dining room table at my house just talking inspiration, lace. He was still working at Givenchy at the time.

"I'm very grateful for all the collaborations I've been a part of with Nike. This one I think is really special."

Vogue magazine reported the dress is priced at $500 with a matching jacket selling for $700.

"It was always going to be black. It wasn't even a question of what we were going to do for the night matches," Sharapova told Vogue, citing the color she wore when she won the 2006 US Open crown, one of her five career Grand Slam titles.

"It was very special to design an outfit for an athlete playing on the courts," Tisci told Vogue. "That moment she had in 2006 was a very iconic moment and we wanted to honor it and be inspired by it.

"We decided to use lace and crystal, which are very me, and black, which is my favorite color and very representative of my career but also the color that has brought a lot of luck for her. So when we started talking about this project, it just made sense."

- Colorful retro throwbacks -

On the other end of the spectrum in color and motif is the Adidas line designed by musician Pharrell Williams.

His 1970s-inspired retro look with colors will serve as the attire of several players, including Spain's Garbine Muguruza, the reigning Wimbledon champion, France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Germany's Zverev, whose look was somewhat nerdy in his opening match with his white tube socks stretched high upon his legs.

"Pharrell Williams, who was sitting in my box in the beginning of the match, designed my outfit," Zverev said after his opening victory over 168th-ranked Darian King of Barbados.

"He came up with the socks and obviously I didn't want to disappoint him and put them down while he was watching me.

"So that's what it looked like."

Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza told Vogue she loved the knitted mini-dress with knee socks.

"It's retro and it's a throwback," she said. "I feel so cool with the different colors and the socks. I like to have bright colors and to feel feminine on the court. I think it's a good combination."

Some items are already available while others will appear in stores starting Thursday.

"Silhouettes that were very popular in the '70s were very strong," Pharrell Williams told Vogue. "I haven't been able to get past that. They're just so cool."

Source: AFP