Naomi Osaka, who is expecting her first child with her partner Cordae, is currently delivering a different kind of collaborative project. The Victoria’s Secret x Naomi Osaka collection was launched on Feb. 21.
The Afro-Japanese tennis superstar is one of the many founding members of Victoria’s Secret’s VS Collective, a replacement for the problematic Victoria’s Secret Angels.
In 2019, the Angels were not given their annual fashion show as the company responded to poor ratings and criticism of the lack of the diversity in its “Super Bowl of lingerie.”
The VS Collection, formed in October 2022, is a group of women who will help shape the line of lingerie. Hailey Bieber, Bella Hadid, Adut Akech, Priyanka Chopra, Megan Rapinoe, Valentina Sampaio, Paloma Elsesser, and Osaka all belong to the collective.
Many of these women represent different body types, showing that Victoria’s Secret is ready to embrace diversity.
Victoria’s Secret x Naomi Osaka
“Victoria’s Secret did this whole revamp, with diversity, which I thought was really amazing because growing up, I didn’t really see someone like myself on their posters,” said Osaka who was born in Japan to a Haitian-American father and a Japanese mother. “So I just thought that it was a really incredible chance to be included.”
Osaka’s Business Moves
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Naomi Osaka’s net worth in 2022 was an estimated $45 million, although she saw a crypto investment crumple. She was among now-bankrupt FTX Investment celebrity promoters who were sued by crypto investors. When FTX collapse late last year, Osaka was named in an $11 billion class-action lawsuit alongside Tom Brady, Gisele Bündchen and others.
The crypto trading company named Osaka as a global ambassador in a “long-term” deal in March 2022, and she received an equity stake in the company as well as compensation in the form of crypto, Tennis.com reported.
Luckily, Osaka has several other business ventures and investments in the works.
As Finurah previously reported, the tennis star also has a media production company partnership with basketball star LeBron James.
Osaka’s media company Hana Kuma, which translates as “flower bear” in Japanese, is signed under James’ SpringHill Co. They focus is on “culturally specific” stories on “important social issues.”
Osaka also launched a sports agency called Evolve with her long-time agent Stuart Duguid, and the agency signed popular Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios in early June.
Duguid also will be involved in Hana Kuma.
