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Serena Williams And Nike Team Up To Create Diversity Design Apprenticeship Program

The first collection from the inaugural SWDC cohort is dropping on Sept.1!

Serena Williams is not only known as the GOAT on the tennis court but also when it comes to making business moves in the fashion industry.

In 2019, Nike and Serena Williams partnered to create the Serena Williams Design Crew (SWDC), a design apprenticeship program at Nike created to promote diversity in design and establish a new generation of design talent at Nike and beyond. 

Well, the first collection from the program is now being released. Hopefully we can grab something before the line sells out, because these styles are incredible! According to a press release, the designs connect sport sand culture while drawing upon 90s nostalgia.

The collection explores Serena’s lineage and legacy through her past and present, as well as the future she’s influencing. The styles also reflects Nike’s approach to encoding deep meaning into the products it creates for athletes. So every item was created with the tennis champ in mind. 

Each piece in the collection celebrates Serena the athlete, style icon and champion of change.

Serena’s story is woven into every detail. A timeline of her grand slams is immortalized in tape. The double zero in ‘00 Williams’ reps her daughter’s ‘OO’ initials and meaning of ‘love’ in tennis. How sweet! 

Her African roots are even included with the the bold prints inspired by West African Kente cloth feature a hidden ‘S’ in the pattern. 

We love how much thought and meaning was put into designing this line. 

The first group of cohorts worked out of Nikes NYC office to design this collection, and the next will work out of Chicago. We're excited to see what Serena and Nike does next!

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