Serena Williams Speaks to Body Positivity in Fashion

Serena Williams is on the cover of Essence magazine’s latest issue.

Here’s what the 37-year-old tennis star had to share with the mag…

On what she looks for in fashion: “Wow. I love fashion, obviously. It has to connect to me, first of all. I like things that are unusual, but also a little classic. It depends: It could be a crazy pop of color, and it’ll totally get me excited. Or it could be something fresh I haven’t seen before. Honestly, I can go in any direction. Just depends on how I feel…”

On body positivity in her fashion line: “We want to be inclusive. We have an extended size, and we call it great because I don’t like the word ‘plus.’ So we call it S Great because every woman is great. Hopefully the word “great” will catch on and people will get rid of the word ‘plus.’”

On the importance of speaking up: “Freedom means standing up and not being afraid to say, ‘I’m here’ or ‘Hear my voice’ or ‘This isn’t what I agreed to’ or ‘This isn’t fair and that isn’t right.’ I’ve done it my whole career. It’s knowing where I’ve come from, knowing my history, in particular, the sport that I’m in. When I first started, there weren’t a lot of people who looked like me. So it was really important to always help other people feel as if this is something they could also be a part of…”

For more from Serena Williams, visit Essence.com.