Serena Williams honors Florence Griffith Joyner with stunning one-legged catsuit
Serena Williams is known for her on-court style. She loves playing in daring, fashion-forward outfits, and her 2021 Australian Open debut was no exception. She strolled onto the court in a stunning one-legged catsuit that had everyone talking.
Serena Williams just casually unveiled a one-legged catsuit. pic.twitter.com/vLyPBnddQm
— Tumaini Carayol (@tumcarayol) February 8, 2021
Serena rocking the one-legged catsuit @AustralianOpen 👑❤️#girlpower 📷 @GettyImages pic.twitter.com/qj9h3E2ZX5
— judy murray (@JudyMurray) February 8, 2021
We interrupt our Super Bowl tweets to bring you this Serena Williams Australian Open fit‼️ pic.twitter.com/kfTeCR55nm
— The Undefeated (@TheUndefeated) February 8, 2021
Strong outfit.
Even stronger performance.@serenawilliams #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/wv08XtPRs7— Patrick Mouratoglou (@pmouratoglou) February 8, 2021
Serena pays tribute to Flo-Jo
A one-legged outfit is a bold statement, so it didn’t take long for people to recognize where the design came from: track star Florence Griffith Joyner.
Only the greats can pull this look off!
RIP Flo-Jo 🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/wrMKO17cqK— The Undefeated (@TheUndefeated) February 8, 2021
A lovely nod to Flo Jo #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/3PnUqMS5NA
— Stimmy Turner (@stjeantropez) February 8, 2021
Serena Williams draws inspiration for the cat suit from Florence Griffith-Joyner #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/8c0BhFVGpO
— 🩺sassenach 🥁💛🐝 (@omwill3) February 8, 2021
Was on phone with mentor and she told me to look at #SerenaWilliams look for her match today at the #AustralianOpen. I immediately said, “she’s serving Flo-Jo.” Then of course Serena does an interview later and says the outfit was in fact inspired by Flo-Jo. 💁🏿♂️💜 #fashion pic.twitter.com/KgHYQ9hgMQ
— Eric Darnell Pritchard (@EricDarnell) February 8, 2021
During her postgame news conference, Williams confirmed that she was honoring Flo-Jo with her outfit. She gave all the credit to her Nike team for coming up with the idea.
"This year we thought of what can we do to keep elevating the Serena Williams on the court."
The story behind @serenawilliams's #AO2021 outfit 🙌 #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/xpN288AXsp— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 8, 2021
"I was inspired by Flo-Jo, who was a wonderful track athlete, amazing athlete when I was growing up. Watching her fashion, just always changing, her outfits were always amazing. This year we thought of what can we do to keep elevating the Serena Williams on the court. The Nike team actually thought of this design of inspiration from Flo-Jo. I was like, 'Oh, my god, this is so brilliant.' "
Flo-Jo had iconic style
Flo-Jo, who died tragically in 1998 at age 38, was known as the fastest woman in the world. In 1988 she set world records in the 100m and 200m sprints, and both still stand today. She, like Williams, also turned heads with her bold fashion choices. She sported hooded speed skating unitards, lace catsuits, long, decorated nails, and several one-legged outfits.
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