On August 27, 2012, as the US Open opened its doors at Flushing Meadows, Vogue published an editorial project that was as playful as it was revealing of its time. The American magazine invited eleven designers and a tennis champion to transform the yellow ball into a creative manifesto. Pearls, rhinestones, lace, chains, leather, retro glasses, metallic spikes, and signature motifs composed a collection of unique objects, designed to be looked at rather than hit.
This series, titled "Grand Slam! Vogue Commissions Custom-made Tennis Balls for the US Open," showcases the intersection of fashion, tennis, and visual culture. Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of Vogue US in 2012, has never hidden her passion for the sport. Her interest goes beyond simply watching from the stands. For her, tennis represents an aesthetic, social, and media language, capable of connecting the precision of the game with the elegance of the attire.
Fourteen years later, these customized tennis balls retain a surprising modernity. They herald the rise of sports luxury, the increasing importance of collaborations between athletes and designers, and the transformation of major tournaments into global cultural platforms.
A Vogue commission published on the opening day of the 2012 US Open
The date is not insignificant. Vogue unveiled the project on August 27, 2012, precisely the day the US Open began. The New York tournament concluded on September 10, 2012, with Andy Murray's victory over Novak Djokovic in the men's final. The Briton won his first Grand Slam title, in a match that has become historic.
Contrary to a statement often repeated in older versions of this article, the US Open is not played on clay. It is played on outdoor hard courts. This distinction is important because it clearly differentiates the New York tournament from Roland-Garros, whose ochre clay contributes to a different visual history of tennis.
Vogue's editorial approach consists of taking a standardized, instantly recognizable, industrial object and entrusting it to creative minds with very different styles. The ball is no longer just a piece of sports equipment. It becomes a vehicle for identity, a volume to be adorned, almost a micro-sculpture.
This approach resonates today with the rise of performance-luxury, where textile innovation, desirability, and sports culture intertwine. In 2012, Vogue wasn't yet talking about luxury athleisure or performance fashion. Yet, the principle was already there: sport provides a universal symbol, while fashion imbues it with narrative.
Anna Wintour, tennis as editorial territory
Anna Wintour's involvement in this project lends it a particular coherence. The editor-in-chief of Vogue has long maintained a personal connection with tennis. She plays the sport, attends major tournaments, and counts several champions among her close friends, including Roger Federer.
For her, tennis functions as an extension of fashion. The two worlds share a taste for discipline, repetition, mastery, and detail. They also rely on a strong visual culture. A champion's silhouette, a headband, a match dress, or a serving gesture can become as memorable as a runway look.
The customized tennis ball project is part of a tradition specific to Vogue: asking designers to repurpose a familiar object to reveal their aesthetic vocabulary. The magazine had already applied this approach to Easter eggs and Halloween pumpkins. With the tennis ball, the exercise takes on an additional dimension, as the object already belongs to an imagery of elegance, clubs, competition, and social distinction.
This fascination continues in Vogue's current evolution. The passing of the editorial torch to a new generation, discussed in our article on Chloe Malle and the future of American Vogue, does not erase Wintour's legacy. On the contrary, it confirms the importance of a narrative capable of connecting fashion, celebrities, sports, and culture.
Eleven designers, twelve interpretations of the yellow ball
The exact count needs clarification. Vogue enlisted eleven designers or creative houses, in addition to Maria Sharapova, presented as the guest tennis legend. The project therefore features twelve contributors.
Each design functions like a miniature self-portrait. The creators aren't trying to make the ball more efficient. They're making it instantly recognizable as belonging to their world.
Peter Som transforms the ball into a floral jewel
Peter Som takes a classic piece of jewelry, the tennis bracelet, as his starting point. His tennis ball is covered in rhinestones and sparkling floral motifs. The designer humorously describes his intention as a way to add glamour to the court.
The object employs a particularly effective mise en abyme. The tennis bracelet, whose name derives from its historical association with the sport, is repurposed here to decorate the ball itself. The vocabulary of jewelry merges with that of the tournament.
Dana Lorenz for Fenton chooses the pearls and chains
The creation attributed to Fenton is signed by its founder, Dana Lorenz. It incorporates the codes of her house: a profusion of pearls, brass chains and deliberately excessive opulence.
Vogue evokes a double reference to the supermodels of the 1990s and to Christian Lacroix. The ball becomes a baroque, dense and precious object, halfway between a catwalk accessory and a collector's item.
This attribution also corrects a common misconception. Fenton is not a separate twelfth person, but rather the jewelry brand of Dana Lorenz.
Pamela Love plants her signature arrow
Pamela Love pierced a monogrammed bullet with a metal arrow, an emblematic motif of her work. The designer explained at the time that she herself had several arrow tattoos.
The intervention seems simple, but it perfectly expresses its aesthetic. The sporting object becomes a talisman, imbued with a symbol that evokes movement, direction, and tension.
Erickson Beamon claims the brilliance
The jewelry house Erickson Beamon opts for the spectacular. Karen Erickson imagines a sparkling ball, designed according to a decidedly theatrical formula: when a player enters the court, she too can shine.
The approach illustrates a vision of glamour that doesn't seek discretion. Rhinestones and embellishments transform the felt surface into a stage costume. The ball retains its shape, but loses all neutrality.
Maria Sharapova signs the ball with a red kiss
Maria Sharapova applied her red lips logo to the ball , coinciding with the recent launch of her Sugarpova confectionery brand. Vogue even supported the creation of small, edible versions.
This proposal is the most directly linked to personal branding. The champion is not simply decorating an object. She is imprinting it with an identifiable commercial symbol, blending glamour, pop culture, and entrepreneurship.
In 2012, this strategy still seemed unusual for an athlete. Yet it foreshadowed the contemporary model of the sportswoman who has become a brand, a creator of products and the editor of her own image.
Warby Parker imagines a player straight out of a Wes Anderson film
Warby Parker transforms the ball into a character. A red headband and a pair of retro glasses give him the look of Richie Tenenbaum, the melancholic tennis player played by Luke Wilson in Wes Anderson's film The Royal Tenenbaums.
The creation is based on an immediately recognizable cinematic reference. It also underscores the importance of accessories in constructing an identity. Two elements are enough to bring to life a character, an era, and an entire aesthetic universe.
Creatures of the Wind makes felt bloom
Chris Peters and Shane Gabier, the founders of Creatures of the Wind, have wrapped the ball in sinuous floral patterns. The design reflects the eclectic spirit of their seasonal prints.
Here, the ball resembles less a piece of equipment and more a textile bud. The yellow felt becomes the background for an organic, delicate, and slightly strange pattern. The creation serves as a reminder that surface design alone can completely alter the perception of a volume.
Rag & Bone combines tennis and baseball
Marcus Wainwright and David Neville, then at the head of Rag & Bone, dressed the ball in leather and thread, until it looked like a baseball.
The reinterpretation works through the collision of two American sporting symbols. The tennis ball, associated with clubs and international tournaments, meets the more popular iconography of baseball. The result remains true to Rag & Bone's utilitarian and urban aesthetic.
Tory Burch revisits a foundational print from 2004
Tory Burch draws from her own fashion house's archives. She revisits a cotton voile print adorned with bugle beads and crochet details, from her first collection launched in 2004.
The ball becomes a concentrated expression of the brand's DNA. Rather than inventing a design specifically for the occasion, the designer chose a foundational reference. This gesture transforms the object into a historical capsule, capable of recounting the origin of a style in just a few centimeters.
Eddie Borgo chooses the cones and spikes
Eddie Borgo covers the ball with metal cones and spikes, characteristic features of his jewelry. The object takes on a futuristic, almost defensive look.
The visual contradiction is striking. A tennis ball normally evokes bounce, lightness, and touch. Once studded with metal, it becomes menacing and unusable. It is precisely this tension that gives it its powerful imagery.
Monique Lhuillier dresses the ball as a bride
Monique Lhuillier covers the ball with black lace placed on white felt. Vogue compares the creation to a miniature wedding dress.
The choice directly reflects the designer's style, renowned for her formal gowns. The ball retains its roundness, but acquires the delicacy of couture. The contrast between the sporty structure and the fineness of the lace creates an almost romantic silhouette.
Diane von Furstenberg plays with the love score
Diane von Furstenberg applies a signature print to the ball and plays with the expression love-all, used in tennis when the score is zero all.
The word "love" has a dual meaning here. It belongs to the vocabulary of tennis, but also to the designer's optimistic and feminine vision. To delve deeper into her influence, her legacy, and the role of the wrap dress in the emancipation of women in fashion, see our profile of Diane von Furstenberg, an iconic figure in fashion.
Why is the tennis ball so appealing to fashion and luxury?
The yellow ball is a particularly powerful object for creators. Its shape is universal, its color code instantly recognizable, and its felt surface offers an unusual tactile experience. It can be painted, sewn, covered, pierced, or embedded.
It also carries a very rich cultural weight. Tennis evokes effort, control, elegance, private clubs, holidays, Grand Slam tournaments, and a certain idea of all-white style. These associations make the object attractive to fashion houses looking to tell a story without producing an entire collection.
The ball finally functions as a democratic icon. Everyone recognizes it, even without following sports results. When a designer transforms it, the public instantly grasps the difference between the original object and its new appearance.
From editorial object to performance fashion
In 2012, these creations were intended for a photography gallery. They were neither sold as props nor designed for use in matches. Their value lay in the image, the humor, and the signature.
Since then, the relationship between fashion and tennis has changed scale. Collaborations have become commercial, match outfits are conceived as global launches, and players orchestrate their arrival on the court with a precision close to that of a red carpet.
Naomi Osaka's Roland-Garros 2026 sequence illustrates this evolution. A couture silhouette can now precede a technical outfit, while the tournament becomes the backdrop for a highly disseminated brand narrative.
Sponsorship has also become more sophisticated. Alliances between watchmaking, automotive, sports equipment manufacturers, and tennis are no longer limited to simply displaying a logo. They build narratives around precision, time, performance, and the passing on of knowledge. Rolex's commitment to the ATP Tour is a prime example.
The balls designed for Vogue thus appear as witnesses to a pivotal moment. Fashion is no longer content with simply dressing champions. It is appropriating the very symbols of the game.
A collection that encapsulates contemporary luxury
The strength of this series lies in its format. Each designer starts with the same object, but no two results are alike. The project demonstrates that a brand's identity can be expressed through material, pattern, metal, color, or cultural reference.
It also summarizes several dynamics that have become central to the luxury sector:
- the transformation of an everyday object into a unique piece
- the importance of brand heritage
- the dialogue between sport, cinema, fashion and celebrity
- the media value of one-off editions
- the power of photographable detail
- the rise of personal branding among athletes
In a digital environment dominated by fast-moving images, the customized ball has a decisive advantage. It is understood in a second. Its familiar shape attracts the eye, while the creative intervention sparks curiosity.
What the Vogue initiative will still be saying in 2026
Revisiting this collection today allows us to appreciate how far the project has progressed. In 2012, a tennis ball made of lace or covered in spikes was a playful editorial touch. By 2026, the intersection of luxury and sport has become a major strategy for brands, media outlets, and athletes alike.
Tennis offers a particularly favorable environment for this hybridization. Its international calendar, dress codes, the proximity of cameras, and the visual power of tournaments transform every detail into potential content.
The series commissioned by Vogue is therefore more than just an archival curiosity. It constitutes a miniature manifesto on fashion's capacity to reinterpret collective objects. UnderAnna Wintour, the yellow ball ceases to be merely the instrument of a game. It becomes a jewel, a character, a logo, a dress, a sculpture, and, above all, an object of desire.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did Vogue feature these customized tennis balls?
Vogue published the project on August 27, 2012, the opening day of the 2012 US Open in New York.
How many creators participated?
The magazine brought together eleven designers or brands, to which champion Maria Sharapova was added. The series therefore includes twelve names.
Who created the ball attributed to Fenton?
The Fenton ball was designed by Dana Lorenz, founder of the jewelry brand. It combines beads and brass chains.
Why did Maria Sharapova decorate her ball with red lips?
The design incorporates the logo of Sugarpova, her confectionery brand launched around that time. Vogue had also featured small, edible versions of the ball.
Is the US Open played on clay?
No. The US Open is played on outdoor hard courts. Roland-Garros is the Grand Slam tournament played on clay.
Could these balls be used during a match?
No. The creations were editorial and artistic objects. The pearls, lace, leather or spikes made them unsuitable for play.
Official French sources
- Vogue France, "Anna Wintour looks back on Roger Federer's career".
- Roland-Garros, "How was the tennis style developed at Roland-Garros?".
- Roland-Garros, "4 outfits that made Roland-Garros history".
