Sports
Naomi Osaka Channels “Kill Bill” at Wimbledon in Custom Outfit Inspired by a Japanese Ceremonial Dress
June 29, 2026
Source: Yahoo Sports · Read on source site
Naomi Osaka on court during the the first round of Wimbledon 2026 on June 29, 2026 Credit: Robert Prange/GettyNEED TO KNOWNaomi Osaka collaborated with designer Hana Yagi on a Wimbledon outfit inspired by Japanese ceremonial dress • >The custom look — which pays homage to Kill Bill — featured embroidered cranes and cherry blossoms and an oversized bow, blending tradition with modern athletic wear • >Osaka views Wimbledon's strict dress code as liberating and uses fashion to tell stories through her walk-out outfitNaomi Osaka continues to put her fashion foot forward on the tennis court.
>The four-time Grand Slam champion, 28, made a sartorial statement with her latest look worn to Wimbledon, stepping out in a custom white outfit inspired by a Japanese ceremonial dress on Monday, June 29.
>Osaka, who was born to a Haitian father and a Japanese mother, collaborated with Tokyo-based designer Hana Yagi on the piece for the prestigious Grand Slam held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in southwest London.
>The outfit was detailed with embroidered cranes stretched across the white fabric, in addition to cherry blossom designs. An oversized bow trailed behind her, giving the silhouette an airy quality as it flowed behind her as she walked onto the grass playing field.
Naomi Osaka walks onto court for her first round match against Elsa Jacquemot at Wimbledon on June 29, 2026 Credit: Daniel Kopatsch/GettyOsaka, who wore a Nike kit beneath its layers, completed her look with a traditional kanzashi hair ornament and Mikimoto jewelry.
>"I like to use fashion as a medium for storytelling," Osaka told British Vogue of her noteworthy entrances. "Every walk-out is an opportunity to bring people into my creative world. The fact that people care about it and are excited to see what's next is also pretty cool."
>Wimbledon is widely known for its strict dress code that both players and spectators must follow, with rules that go beyond its famed all-white guideline that was enacted in 1963.
>In fact, the wear-white protocol took on varying degrees of strictness over the years. Wimbledon Championship Entry Conditions clarified the rule to mean "almost entirely white" in 1995 and amended it in 2023 to allow female players to wear dark-colored undershorts.
Naomi Osaka playing against Elsa Jacquemot during the first round of Wimbledon on June 29, 2026 Credit: Robert Prange/GettyThe history of the tournament and its meaningful traditions were in part the reason why Osaka and her team, including her longtime creative director Marty Harper, wanted to lean into a look with significance. "It's one of the few places in sport where ceremony still feels inseparable from competition," Harper told British Vogue of Wimbledon. "We wanted to acknowledge that while creating a dialogue with Japanese ceremonial dress."
>Recreating a kimono wasn't the intention of Osaka's outfit, Yagi told the outlet. Rather, they borrowed the garment's structure and symbolism and imagined how those ideas might exist on a modern athlete at the tournament. "The starting point was the idea of ‘Evolving Ceremony'," he said of the look's concept. "The garment is constructed from vintage shiromuku [traditional Japanese bridal garments], kimono and wedding dresses — ceremonial garments originally created to mark important moments in people's lives."
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>The outfit was also designed with practicality in mind for Osaka's less-than-a-minute change into competition mode. While some may view Wimbledon's dress code as strict, the tennis star sees it as unexpectedly liberating.
>"I actually didn't feel limited at all,” she told the outlet. "Obviously, the outfit has to be white, but aside from that, you can play with a lot of different design elements. In some ways, not having to think about the color allows you to highlight other cool features like fabrics and textures."
>"I think everyone has the capacity to have multiple interests or hobbies and passions," she continued. "Two of mine are tennis and fashion; the next person might like painting and hiking, and there's nothing wrong with that."
Naomi Osaka walking onto court during the first round of the 2026 Australian Open on Jan. 20, 2026 Credit: Robert Prange/GettyDuring an on-court interview after her match, Osaka also revealed a pop culture inspiration behind the look: Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill. "I was thinking about my favorite movies. I love Kill Bill, and then I remembered absolutely falling in love with Lucy Liu's character, and she has an all white kimono. I remember thinking that was really cool and amazing," she said, per Reuters and WTA Tennis.
>She further explained how Wimbledon's traditional all-white dress code paired with the movie as well as her heritage. "There's the tradition of it all and in my head when I think about that and I think about my culture, my heritage, which is Japanese and Asian, and then if I dive deeper into Japanese culture I think about the most iconic silhouette, which for me is the kimono," she said.
>On Instagram, she also paid nod to Liu's character, O-Ren Ishii, in the caption accompanying photos of her outfit by quoting one of her lines. "Silly rabbit," she wrote.
>Osaka's Wimbledon outfit was anticipated given the various statements she's made with her walk-out outfits this season to date. Most recently, she wowed the crowd with a shimmering gold number that was unveiled beneath an all-black layer at the 2026 French Open. Additionally, Osaka's jellyfish-inspired look at the Australian Open and her color-changing leopard kit at the BNP Paribas Open are among her most memorable from the 2026 season alone.
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