Serena Williams has opened up on the impact dressing her close friend, The Duchess of Sussex, has had on the reception of her new fashion label. While she opted not to go into specifics, it’s safe to assume publicity proved rather positive for the brand following the royal’s appearance in S by Serena.
Talking to Business of Fashion, Williams declined to comment on her brand’s performance following Markle’s appearance in the label’s “boss blazer” during her royal tour of Australia last October. However, if the Meghan Markle effect is anything to go by, the royal likely had a positive impact on her brand’s popularity, together with the now best-selling style.
In the past, the duchess’s influential pull has sent customers across the globe racing to shop each look she steps out in. Her wardrobe has seen pieces, designers, and entire collections sell out, and it’s likely Williams’s is no exception.
“It’s so fun because people are like, ‘Oh my God. Like wow, the quality is crazy,’” said Williams. “Listen, if we’re giving our stuff to Meghan, it has to be the highest quality that we can get. So, that’s what I tell our team internally: ‘We have to make sure it’s super high quality that, you know, is fit for a royal princess!’”
As the founder and chief executive of her relatively new direct-to-consumer brand, which she funded from her own pocket, Williams’s admitted that while she’s been working on S by Serena for almost three years, it’s been a dream of hers since she was a teenager. The brand’s first collection boasts an array of bold and bright basics, available in an inclusive size range.
Due to her various sponsorships, particular her partnership with Nike, Williams isn’t legally allowed to manufacture activewear, however due to the saturation of such products on the market, this doesn’t seem to bother her.
“I’ve been trying for years and years to do something in fashion. I’ve been doing this for so long and it’s never hit,” she told the publication.
“It’s so easy when you’re so successful at something else to just do that and keep being amazingly successful at it. But that’s not the story I wanted to tell,” the sports star added. “And I always felt like if I didn’t at least do it one more time, 100 percent with my backing, that I would always have some sort of regret.”
Through the course of the interview, Williams was also quizzed how she approached the daunting task of planning Markle’s baby shower, which took place in February at the Mark Hotel in New York.
“Planning something like that takes a lot of effort. I’m a perfectionist, so I’m like, ‘Let’s make it perfect,’” she briefly explained.
