In working with her, Hale has found Williams to be an active collaborator who can provide precise feedback on shoes pitched to her. The feedback she gave us that day: Going ‘all out’ in practice was critical to informing the final design that she’d later wear in some of the biggest matches of her career.”
“It was incredible to see the same intensity she brings to her Grand Slam matches to testing our footwear. “Our team had been working on a new footwear model for her, and she invited us to her home court in Florida at a key point in the creation process to test it,” Hale remembers. The feedback he received from her in their first meeting correlates to that from the most recent in that Williams consistently emphasized pushing limits, even if she wasn’t actually competing. He’s worked with Williams since 2014, contributing to shoes like the Mirabella, Flare, Flare 2, and Flare Knit Low. Her shoes, an exclusive version of the NikeCourt Flare 2, were diamond-encrusted, with solid gold deubrés sourced from her company Serena Williams Jewelry. Her skirt of six layers (she shed a few layers during matches to cut weight) referenced her six career US Open wins. The outfit was meant to channel the twinkling stars of the night sky, its many ornaments nearly matching their luster.
Williams played in her last Grand Slam in a sparkling bodice inspired by figure skating gear and bedazzled with crystals. In response to the prompt, Nike, which has outfitted Williams in head-to-toe looks since 2004, gave her the most. “What a dream brief when designing for such an iconic moment for the greatest of all time,” says Geoff Hale, a senior athlete footwear manager at Nike who works on Williams’ shoes.
#Nike flare 2 serena professional#
How do you go about creating a proper set of apparel and sneakers to honor the all-time greatest on her final night of professional competition? The Nike designers outfitting Serena Williams, who retired upon her exit from the US Open on Friday, had a guideline from the GOAT herself: “More is more.”
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