At only 23, Naomi Osaka is many things: a tennis champion, a Guinness World Records title-holder and now, a Louis Vuitton model.
Her latest role, which was first announced last month, was made official through the French fashion brand’s new Spring/Summer 2021 campaign. The images, lensed by artistic director Nicolas Ghesquière, show Osaka wearing a look from Louis Vuitton’s retro-futuristic collection and sporting a monogrammed leather crossbody bag with utility-inspired details.
Osaka is not the only star to front the campaign, though. Louis Vuitton’s whole roster of famous ambassadors make an appearance, including Oscar winners Emma Stone and Jennifer Connelly, Beyoncé-approved singing duo Halle and Chloé Bailey, as well as actors, models and musicians like Game of Thrones’ Sophie Turner, Cody Fern, Laura Harrier, Carolyn Murphy, Liu Yifei, Angelica Ross, and Jaden Smith.
The A-listers also showed off Louis Vuitton’s new bags, namely the Coussin (as seen on Jaden Smith and Sophie Turner) and the Rendez-Vous (worn by Emma Stone and the Bailey sisters). The former, which made our list of best bags of the season, is a soft, quilted monogram leather shoulder bag that comes with a chain or an adjustable strap. It comes in cream, green (which featured heavily in Louis Vuitton’s S/S 2021 presentation) and metallic silver.
The Rendez-Vous, on the other hand, has a buttery leather façade and features a golden clasp inspired by the Louis Vuitton’s heritage trunk locks. With its removable chain, it can be worn as a shoulder bag, a crossbody or carried by hand as Stone does. For now, the new style comes in camel, red, as well as black with gold-monogram embossed leather.
Both the Coussin and Rendez-Vous are designed for both men and women, as the campaign makes clear.
The campaign is just the start of Naomi Osaka’s partnership with Louis Vuitton — and one of many of her fashion collaborations. (The three-time Grand Slam champion has already worked with Nike and Adidas, among others.) In a statement, Osaka revealed, ”Aside from tennis, my most treasured passion is fashion; and there is no brand more iconic than Louis Vuitton.”
“It is such an honour to work with Nicolas – he’s a designer I admire so much and we share a mutual love of Japanese culture and style. To become global brand ambassador is truly a dream come true for me.”
Header photo credit: Louis Vuitton
Pameyla Cambe
Senior Writer
Pameyla Cambe is a fashion and jewellery writer who believes that style and substance shouldn't be mutually exclusive. She makes sense of the world through Gothic novels, horror films and music. Lots of music.
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