Teaming up with Uniqlo, the retired Swiss tennis ace proudly calls himself an 'up-and-coming' designer and can't wait to create another fashion collection.
- Aug 6, 2023
AceShowbiz - Retired tennis ace Roger Federer has dubbed himself an "up-and-coming" fashion designer. The 41-year-old former Grand Slam champion has teamed up with the fashion label Uniqlo, founded by Loewe creative director Jonathan Anderson, to create a capsule collection for the Japanese casual wear retailer.
"I really enjoy it. It's like deep diving into a completely different world. It's like the art world or the jewellery world or car world. The fashion world is the one I know a lot. And I've gotten to know so many of the beautiful and best designers, so I've been very fortunate," he said of his forays into fashion. And when GQ called him a fashion designer, he quipped, "Up-and-coming fashion designer."
The collection is a nine-piece unisex line - boasting a grey fleece zip-up jacket, a blue two-tone polo, and cropped track pants. Each piece is a twist on Federer's own style. He explained, "I wanted the collection to be something that I haven't really done in the past, but yet it wouldn't feel like, 'What is he doing? He looks completely different.' "
And it was no mean feat working on the designs with Anderson. Federer - who recently got up on stage with Coldplay to play the shaker during Chris Martin and co's performance of "Don't Panic" - recalled, "Sometimes we would look at it and talk about it and then we would be very happy, but then we still would make a lot of changes. All these little details, in my mind, they all make a difference at the end."
On his involvement, he added, "Jonathan has a wonderful feel with it. But he always wanted it to be my decision as well, and my input." And he teased that the pair are "ready to go" for another collection. He said, "We would've liked the collection to be even bigger because we had so many cool pieces. But at the end, at some point, you have to cut it down. But it could have been basically double in size."
The Swiss sporting legend previously inked an endorsement deal with Uniqlo in 2018 whilst he released a sneaker with the Swiss brand On.
