Professional tennis player and advocate Naomi Osaka is joining the Victoria’s Secret VS Collective an ever-growing group of trailblazing partners who share a common passion to drive positive change. “After learning and understanding about VS’s vision for the Collective, I was inspired to join these amazing women,” Osaka told WWD exclusively. “I remember going into [Victoria’s Secret] stores when I was a kid and wondering why none of the women on the wall looked like me. Now, as a collective, we can inspire the next generation from all different backgrounds, cultures, and sizes. That represents such progress to me.”The four-time Grand Slam winner is joining an initiative that includes a long line of women from diverse backgrounds including actress and entrepreneur Priyanka Chopra; and plus-size model Paloma Elsesser just to name a few who all share their stories, collaborations, business partnerships, and cause-related projects. Osaka’s first role with VS Collective (who has also done collaborations with Louis Vuitton, Nike, launched her own skincare line, Kinlo, and recently joined Lebron James and Drake in investing in a Sports Tech firm StatusPRO) is as a guest ton Victoria’s Secret’s new podcast ‘VS Voices’ talking about everything from her mental health, her role models Kobe Bryant and Serena Williams and how women have to bear the pressures of double standards. “I enjoy [the fashion collaborations],” Osaka said on the podcast. “Because I feel, like, I grew up playing tennis and there are so many fields that I don’t have that much knowledge of and it’s just interesting to be able to interact with everyone [in retail and beauty] who is, like, at the top of their field,” she says in a statement. Victoria’s Secret has been under a lot of scrutiny for its representation of women in the past the company’s comeback strategy and mission are to be the worlds leading advocate for women. Creating lifelong relations with women, reflecting their journey and their community.
