Style: Fun with Maria

2009/11/16

Former tennis player Maria Sharapova, one of Nike’s sports ambassadors, talks about fashion, life and tennis, among other things. THE Nike hooded sweatshirt, which made its debut in 1977, is back. Over the past three decades, the AW77’s form has evolved but its function has remained the same: to keep athletes warm and comfortable pre- and post-game.

The fleece hoodie has been part of the uniform of sport for decades. This time around it was not about re-inventing the AW77 Hoodie, rather it was about re-mastering and re-crafting a sportswear icon to make the product function at a higher level than before.

Last month, the AW77 photo shoot teamed up some of the most iconic athletes.

They included tennis players Maria Sharapova and Rafael Nadal as well as basketball players Kobe Bryant and LeBron James with the creative duo of David Sims (fashion photographer) and Karl Templer (stylist) to present the Nike sportswear in its true essence: off-court and on athletes.

Below is an excerpt of the interview with Sharapova during the photo shoot.

Sharapova feels it’s important to show off her sense of style on court.

QUESTION: The jacket you’re wearing is 87.

Sharapova: Yes, it is because of my birthday. I felt No.1 would be cool because I guess you always want to be No.1. But then I thought it’s also very clichéd. So, I decided, why not my birth year? That’s when one more individual came on to Earth.

So there it is. Now, I have a sweatshirt with a number. Pretty cool.

Q: Do you feel your sport influences the way you dress?

Sharapova: My sport involves fashion. I get to express my individuality through what I wear on court. But, I also must feel comfortable for competition. This transmits to off court.

I have had real fun with Nike, the designers and the team behind my whole look. From the dress, to my shoes, to the bag that I carry on

court, they all come together with one beautiful look and feel, following a lot of discussions. I was sitting in a meeting a year ago for the outfit that I was going to wear. I was getting inspired by travels, what I like, what I feel comfortable in and what I’m inspired by.

I remember we did one outfit that’s full of tradition and always white. But, we always try to bring in new materials and technologies to make it better. We work with so many different things to try to make a white outfit interesting. That’s why we did shorts one year. We think of little creative ways to bring that surprise element to people, like, “Wow, what is she doing?” People don’t know what to expect, I think that’s great.

Q: Do you feel it’s important to show off your style on court?

Sharapova: Absolutely. You try to draw the best attention from everyone. So you try to set the bar higher every time and you try to surprise people and you try to bring the best to the table, the best that you can.

Sharapova being touched up during the shoot.

The best thing about it is that not everyone is going to like your outfit. If you think you will be loved every time, you will be frustrated. Someone likes a T-shirt and the other might just like a jacket. That’s just the way things are going to be. But for me, spicing things up is fun.

Q: Do you have a lot of people telling you what to do?

Sharapova: I appreciate honesty very much. I love honest people. I don’t mind when they tell me that they don’t like me or they don’t like certain things about me. If everyone liked everything, life would just be boring. And If everybody liked me, I would just become a boring person!

I try to surround myself with honest people. I try to be real, although sometimes my life is a little crazy... but I try to be as normal as I can. What’s important is to stay true to yourself and to know where you came from, know who is around you and know how your parents raised you. I am lucky to have a very solid family tradition where my parents have been very hands on with me.

Q: How do you maintain your physical condition to play the best tennis?

Sharapova: I realised in the last year or so, after being injured, how physically challenging tennis is as an individual sport. You can do all the training in the world, you can run, hike, do yoga, Pilates and all that, and I do all that but there are days when I feel like a fish out of water on court because there are so many things that are involved in tennis — hand/eye co-ordination, movement, lateral movement, going forward, you know, little steps before you hit the ball, then hitting the ball. No matter how much strength you have, you sometimes feel weak and so out of it because it almost feels like a new surrounding even though I’ve done it for so many years. The main thing to keep me fit is always to play as much as I can because that’s what gets me in good shape.

Q: How do you manage to maintain your focus given all the distractions of life?

Sharapova: I think a lot of it comes down to belief. If you know that you’ve worked hard and done everything you could have possibly done, then you shouldn’t be worried or have regrets. Never mind that you sometimes have to put aside all the fun things, like going out with your friends at night.

Q: How did you keep yourself focused at the photo shoot?

Sharapova: Compared to what we have to do on the tennis court, the photo shoot was actually an easier task. I think at events like this where you’re around so many people, it’s all about focusing on yourself and just being comfortable.

If you’re comfortable with yourself and your own body, it’s so much easier. I’m lucky that I have the experience. I don’t have to work on a product or clothing. I am just working with my body shape. I’m pretty comfortable with that, and no matter how many people there are around me, it’s not that much different from tennis games. When you go inside the court, there are so many people around and talking and having opinions, but you need to remember that it’s about you and the opponent ... that’s it.

Q: What did you think of the shots you took for the campaign? Did you think of yourself differently when you saw these shots?

Sharapova: The shots are interesting. For me the shoot was more of an artistic thing, as if I had stepped into a different character.

That’s what made it fun. We shot three hoodies. It was relaxing and I had fun with the creative team. You know, a good photo shoot depends a lot on the mood, the lighting, the set up, the team. Every photographer is different. When people are easy to work with, it’s so much easier for me to be natural and be myself.