Venus Williams, you are not a -Designer

We’ve grown accustomed to the multi-hyphenate celebrity. Jennifer Lopez springs to mind as one of the most prominent of these. In the building of her brand empire J.Lo’s become a dancer-singer-actress-perfumer-fashion-designer-tv-judge-producer. But given the Jack of all trades, Master of none adage, its probably unlikely many of us can excel at each hyphenate. For me, Venus Williams’ hyphen designer skills are seriously called into question on a regular basis.

The Goddess Herself

I can be amused by Rihanna’s bikini-costumes, Nikki Minaj’s polka-dot hair and Lady Gaga’s eggs. I CANNOT be amused when an otherwise incredibly gifted athlete, blessed with a statuesque figure, killer bone structure and beautiful chocolate brown skin deliberately creates and wears eyesores. This woman – is the 1st black woman to hold 1st place ranking, this woman – has 21 Grand Slam titles to her name, this woman – holds 5 Wimbledon Singles titles, this woman – is undeniably an above-average athlete and highly-skilled tennis player.

I’m upset that with all the power she has – to break barriers, to help others break barriers, to be a living legacy, a symbol of beauty, grace and strength she throws that kind of branding away to be a… floozy? Might we even say ghetto-fabulous? A ‘what-on-earth-is-she-wearing’ joke?

Yes, of course, its her track record on court that I must pay attention to, not the nude underwear she’s wearing. Let’s say Venus IS breaking class, race or gender boundaries with her garments – by all means do so – but could the results be more beautiful? More befitting your now-exalted position in the History of Tennis? Did you buy that Associate Degree in Fashion?

From A to V

She’s doing damage to her personal brand, or what her personal brand could be. She could have been an Andre Agassi. Agassi was an exciting, dangerous bad boy with his long hair, all-black attire and gigantic shorts, he put his edginess to use in Canon’s Image is Everything campaign. The campaign played with his on-court ‘rebel’ personality.

Admittedly, at the time, Agassi wasn’t taken seriously as a tennis player, but when he stopped making statements and just focused on the tennis he became one of the most successful and beloved players of all time.

Heidi Klum says ‘You’re out’

Here’s a look at Venus’ most questionable designs

Currently wearing this at Wimbledon 2011, its been called a toga, a jumper, the Venus eye-trap, or for some, in a nod to her Goddess of Love name, its her Goddess toga.

(AP Getty Images)

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This was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Worn at the Australian Open, it is called the ‘Wonderland’ dress, Venus says she was inspired by Alice in Wonderland, who went down a hole and didn’t know what she’d find.

(Coco Perez)

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I was actually watching this match. CBS updated a tug-tally of how many times Venus had to pull down this dress. It was 42 times.

This dress was actually almost knee-length when properly adjusted. As she was playing the US Open in New York, the fireworks on the dress signify…. yadda yadda…

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Another city-themed dress, playing in the French Open in a can-can corset-inspired outfit, complete with nude pants. This combination caused spectators to wonder if Venus was wearing underwear at all.

(AFP Getty Images)

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