Entertainment | Celebrity

Daily Deuce: Serena has her designs on Dubai

The women's tennis No 1 meets Emirati designer Hind Beljafla to talk fashion

By David Tusing, Deputy tabloid! Editor
Published: 17:00 February 22, 2013

Image Credit: Zarina Fernandes/Gulf News
Hind Beljafla and Serena Williams pose for a photo together.

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We all have our off days. And so it was with the present world tennis No1 Serena Williams when she met an Emirati designer as part of her contract as a Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship ambassador.

But it didn’t take much for the 31-year-old, who pulled out of the tournament on Wednesday, to perk up. Dressed in a pink Nike top — she has a $40 million (Dh146 million) deal with the apparel maker — Williams had barely sat down when she saw the traditional Emirati hand jewellery laid out for her on the table in a penthouse suite at the Jumeirah Creekside hotel.

“I love these,” she gushed as Hind Beljafla, who along with sister Reem are behind Das Collection, put it on for her.

Settling down on the sofa, Williams quickly and confidently immersed herself into her role as a presenter for the Dubai Duty Free promotional video.

“I love fashion so we’re going to talk design and compare notes,” she said to the camera, before she shot a volley of questions at Hind.

“So what’s your inspiration this season? What kind of silhouettes do you usually do? Is it mostly black for abayas?”

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Hind matched her word-for-word, explaining the significance of the abaya, and what she and her sister set out to do with the label, which recently went international.

“We started [it] after we found that there were very few options for us to wear,” she explained. “We were really into fashion so we wanted something traditional yet glamorous.”

Looking through the latest collection of dresses and abayas set up on a rack especially for her, Williams, a designer herself for her label Aneres (Serena spelled backwards), looked impressed.

“I’m really into red this season so I really like this,” she said as she singled out a gown. “You guys have really bold colours. I love your stuff.”

She seemed intrigue by the flowy abayas. “These are very well draped. Is this high-waist? Is it a two piece?”