Naomi Osaka in custom Hana Yagi. (Photos: Instagram/@naomiosaka)
\n\nNaomi Osaka has never treated a walk-on as a formality. The four-time Grand Slam champion returned to Tokyo for the Toray Pan Pacific Open at Ariake Tennis Forest Park, and she brought her favourite collaborator along. Japanese designer Hana Yagi dressed her in two custom kimonos.
\n\nThe first, in deep blue, came out for her opening match. Cranes with finely detailed wings swept across the fabric, while the hem and sleeves were finished in tiers of white ruffles that looked like feathers in motion. In one of the pictures she shared, the kimono was cinched with a metal obi made by Yagi’s father, a sheet metal craftsman. Yagi said she picked up the joy of making things by hand from him. The two usually work in very different materials, so the process was tricky at times, but she loved doing it together.
\n\nNaomi Osaka (Photos: Instagram/@_hanayagi)
\n\nThe second look was a vermilion kimono worn over Osaka’s Nike tennis kit. Red ruffles tumbled down the billowing sleeves and along the edges again, ending in a long pleated train, with white motifs scattered across the fabric.
\n\nThe pair have done this before, and collaborated…
Original source: https://www.timesnownews.com/lifestyle
