By Martine Paris and Janet Wu
For those wondering, that giant orange bag with a metallic navy and white racing stripe that Serena Williams was seen toting around the US Open all week is the Niccolo bag by Newport, R.I., designer Kimberly Pucci.
Handcrafted in premium pebble leather, the carry-all with its padded handles retails for $1 950 (about R33 700) on the designer’s website.
According to Pucci in an interview with Bloomberg Radio, Williams fell in love with the bag at a party in the Hamptons hosted by the 1640 Society, a gathering of billionaire family office heads and as-moneyed set who summer in the beach community.
Williams, who is an investor in unicorn start-ups and wellness companies such as Daily Harvest Inc., Noom Inc., Tonal Systems Inc., and MasterClass (Yanka Industries Inc.), was speaking at the event when Pucci introduced herself as an American luxury goods designer, soon to be a household name.
She told Pucci that being a busy mom, she was a fan of large oversized bags with no zippers that she could quickly take things out of.
So Pucci gifted the sporty bag with its New England-y stripe and Tuscan flare to the tennis legend, who is known for having a penchant for all things Italy.
She met her husband, Reddit Inc. co-founder Alexis Ohanian, in Rome in 2015.
Williams has said she is planning to retire to spend more time with her family and her venture capital firm, Serena Ventures.
Williams decided to wear the distinctive bag onto the court last Wednesday, August 24, during the opening of the US Open practice sessions, and Pucci says that within five minutes she received about 20 text messages from clients and friends who recognised the bag.
Ever since, enquiries have been pouring in.
“In the world of fashion and luxury goods, putting your name on a brand is not easy,” Pucci says, and it was especially challenging during the pandemic.
She considers Williams’s adoption of the bag a life-changing event, especially when one considers how rare it is for heavily sponsored star athletes like Williams to carry something from a small, bespoke designer.