Lanka styles Venus’s Wimbledon

As she set the courts aflame with her sizzling strokes and served to win her fourth Wimbledon title earlier this month, not many knew that the outfit worn by Venus Williams were made here, in Sri Lanka. The Layered Bra Top in traditional Wimbledon white was made especially for Venus by MAS Active, part of MAS Holdings Ltd.

MAS Active was the chosen vendor for Reebok, UK – the official clothing sponsor for the golden girl of tennis, who also became the lowest-ranked woman to win Wimbledon, beating Marion Bartoli of France at the All England Club.

The Williams sisters – Venus and Serena – are known for their love of on-court fashion and glittering accessories, apart from their domination of women's tennis. Venus is known to have designed her own sportswear. However, unlike the daring corset-style dress she wore in the 2003 championships – which she designed together with American fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg, creating fashion history – she seems to have put comfort first this time around.

“The Absolute Fitness Layered Bra Top is unique, made to Venus’s measurements, according to specifications given by Reebok,” says Development Merchandiser at MAS Active, Rifqa Razik, who handled the order. Explaining that they were given the order four months prior to the Wimbledon tournament, she adds that shell and mesh fabrics were used, and that the garment was made by PlayDry technology, which enhances its technical suitability as sportswear. The garments had then been shipped directly to Wimbledon.

Wimbledon has always been known for its fashion statements as much as its tennis. This year too, Maria Sharapova's Swan Lake dress and Tatiana Golovin's red undershorts had created quite a stir. It was reported that Venus made her own mark with lycra shorts that she wore spontaneously at a match when she felt her skirt was ‘too big’.

MAS Active is one of the suppliers for casual and sports wear for Nike, Reebok, Adidas, Gap and Speedo. Apart from the 20 pieces manufactured for Wimbledon, they are also making Venus’s clothes for the US Open Tournaments this year.