Law Roach Had 30 Hours To Make Naomi Osaka’s US Open Look And Came Back With A Court-Length Train

Naomi Osaka walked into Arthur Ashe Stadium Monday night in a custom Who Decides War look that took roughly 30 hours to build, and it made every other entrance at the 2026 US Open feel like a warm-up.

Law Roach styled it. She beat Anastasia Zakharova in the first round wearing it. This is her first Grand Slam since bringing Roach on, and she called him a creative force when they announced the partnership.

 

The look was a sleeveless hoodie in heavyweight French terry with an oversized silhouette, paired with a domed tulle ballgown skirt built from several yards of fabric and a train that dragged the court. Underneath was her Nike kit, a black sleeveless tank with gray outlining. Spotlights hit it from every angle in the tunnel, which was the point.

 

The inspiration was Allen Iverson. “I guess, my tribute to Iverson,” Osaka said when asked about the look. “I really like him a lot. Nike said basketball so I said, okay, you want basketball? I’ll give you basketball.”
Who Decides War cofounders Téla D’Amore and Ev Bravado built the silhouette off Iverson’s gray baggy sweatsuits and off two images of him in his red-and-black Sixers headband. From those photos, Roach said, they had roughly 30 hours to deliver the whole thing.

 

The details on the gown are personal. It is covered in distressed newspaper clippings and imagery that the designers said represent the accomplishments earned and the setbacks endured throughout Naomi’s path to this moment. Meaning she walked into Arthur Ashe wearing her own press, the good and the bad, at the tournament she famously stepped away from in 2021 to protect her mental health.

 

The tulle silhouette carries its own reference. D’Amore and Bravado said the domed shape nods to their late mentor Virgil Abloh and his fall 2020 collection, where he reimagined Arc’teryx windbreakers as explosive gowns. That piece was controversial when it debuted and remains one of their favorites he ever made. They said it felt important to nod to a hero whose own path to success was defined by refusing to move within the expected current.

 

Sit with the references for a second. Iverson, whose cornrows and baggy clothes got so far under the NBA’s skin that the league wrote a dress code aimed at him. Abloh, who got questioned at every step of his run to Louis Vuitton. Osaka, who was told she owed the press her time in 2021 and walked away instead. Three people who were told to move differently and did not.

 

Osaka has made these walk-ons her signature this season. At the Australian Open in January she showed up with a wide-brimmed hat with a butterfly perched on it, a veil, an umbrella, flowing turquoise fabric and white wide-leg pants, and told reporters she was allowed to design it and that it was inspired by a jellyfish. That look split the tour. Aryna Sabalenka called fashion a beautiful world with no judgment and said the look was perfect for Osaka. Carlos Alcaraz said it was a great way to express what you feel without worrying about what anyone else says.

 

The Nike side of her wardrobe stays consistent. She signed with the brand in 2019 after starting her career with adidas, and her Grand Slam kits sell out fast when they hit retail. Her 2026 US Open kit uses Nike’s Radical Airflow mesh, the same technology Serena Williams debuted at Wimbledon this year.
Osaka is a two-time US Open champion and a four-time Grand Slam winner. She is still in the draw.