Williams serves up pro tips for design
Tennis superstar Venus Williams came to Chicago’s The Hotel at Midtown Athletic Club last month for a trunk show to promote new looks from her athleisure brand EleVen.
She sat on a velvety, jeweltoned green couch in a hotel suite called the V Suite, which opened this summer. Like the Tennis Lounge near the Midtown tennis courts, this suite was designed by the West Palm Beach, Fla.-based interior design firm V Starr Interiors. The firm is hot right now: It was recently hired to do interiors for the Florida locations of Niido, Airbnb’s foray into apartment complexes.
By the way: V Starr Interiors? That’s Williams too.
When she’s not designing clothes or swanky hotel suites, Venus Williams also plays a mean game of tennis.
We caught up with her to talk about her connections to Chicago, her design inspirations and a few tips for making your own place pop.
But after this year’s French Open controversy involving her sister Serena Williams’ bodysuit (not to mention Serena’s attention-grabbing U.S. Open outfit designed by Chicagoan and Louis Vuitton designer Virgil Abloh and Nike), we asked for insight on why it matters what women wear on the court in the first place.
The following has been edited for length and clarity.
Q: You have a long history at Midtown Athletic Club in Chicago.
A: I came to a tournament here in ’98, and Serena played. It was her first main-draw match. They would only give her a wild card if I played doubles. But she didn’t need it. She ended up beating two top players quite handily and was in the semifinals on the way to the finals when she twisted her ankle and couldn’t continue. We had to drop the doubles — we were also in that semifinals! Literally, (it was) her first main-draw tournament — if you can imagine.
Q: Do you get back to Chicago
often?
A: Not that often. I don’t have this thing called “free time,” but when I do get to come here, it’s great. Every time you come here, people are like Chicago — deep dish! But I’m gluten-free and dairy-free! So I feel like I don’t get to enjoy all the normal food people get to enjoy in Chicago.
Maybe I need to break some rules.
Q: What sparked your interest
for interiors?
A: I love all design, in general. If I could, I’d be a graphic designer, industrial designer, artist ... anything. But there’s only limited time. So you have to make a choice.
Q: Any favorite colors?
A: I’m a huge fan of black in interiors. It’s a color most people wouldn’t go to, but when you do use it, it’s very powerful. It’s very grounding, and it’s very sophisticated.
Q: Any other pro tips for interior design?
A: Create a (mood) board for each and every room, (so) you have this continuous story that’s happening. And so you’re kind of working toward that. Whether it happens today or tomorrow, this is the direction I’m going in. That’s how you achieve a cohesive space.
Q: Tell us about your new EleVen line. You say it was inspired by Atlanta. But not the city of Atlanta.
A: Atlanta was an ancient goddess. She’s been off the scene for thousands of years now, but we can remember her. I named a collection after her. So it’s that goddess motif. We have to keep sneaking those names in there. We probably won’t sneak Nike in, but ...
There’s a lot of other ones in there. And, obviously, I’m named after a planet and a goddess, depending on how you want to see it, so the line always has this goddess moment.
Q: What does the goddess Atlanta represent to you?
A: Maybe no individual aspects of that individual god, but just the whole aspect of women being strong, powerful and beautiful. In Greek and Roman cultures — and many ancient cultures — you did have these goddesses that were quite powerful and people were quite reverential to them. So it just shows the personality of a strong woman ... and that people should bow down to them! (Laughs.) No, no, not that.
Q: Do you have one favorite piece in the collection?
A: I would say all our seamless pieces. I love our seamless hoodie, and I wear that all the time. I wear it on the plane, on the court, on the gym, while I’m sleeping … no, no, not while I’m sleeping, but seamless is so easy.
Q: There’s been a lot of controversy on the court regarding women’s fashion. Why does it matter what women wear?
A: Whatever you wear, you need to be confident in it. When you’re confident, you feel good about what you’re doing. When you’re self-conscious, it’s extremely hard to focus on what you’re doing, no matter what it is. So no matter what it is, you’ve got to feel like you rule the world.