Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian cites Mandy Freeman example to urge fashion brands to hire women athletes over influencers

Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian sat down for a friendly chat with soccer player Taylor Smith on the show OffseasonFC. They discussed the dynamics between sports and fashion and the advantages of women athletes representing fashion brands.

23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams has embraced the world of fashion both on- and off-court. She shared her thoughts on retirement via fashion magazine Vogue and has co-designed a collection with Nike. She also owns a beauty brand, Wyn, and has walked the red carpet at the Met Gala in the past few years.

On the show, Williams' husband Ohanian said he wasn't a fashion expert, but the Reddit co-founder did share his thoughts on the business side of fashion and brands. In a video shared by OffseasonFC on X (formerly Twitter), Ohanian was welcomed by the host Taylor Smith, who was wearing a custom-made bejeweled baseball cap.

The caption read,

"Fashion Patrol with @taylornsmith11_ and @alexisohaniann (hats sold separately) on how brands are fumbling the bag when it comes to pro women athletes"

In the video, both Smith opined NJ/NY Gotham FC's Mandy Freeman was the most stylish athlete in the division.

"Mandy Freeman. She is the most fashionable player in the division by far. She's someone who can take anything thrifted, designer, what-have-you and look incredible," said Smith.

Going through Freeman's off-court looks prompted Ohanian to ask if brands were sending their merchandise to Freeman for publicity. He said brands could gain a lot of recognition by being worn by women athletes.

"Do stylists, as a league... like are players on their own right now for sorting this out with like stylists and brands because if I were building a new fashion brand I would be..." Ohanian said.

"Hiring Mandy Freeman?" interjected Smith.

"Yeah, well right? Like I would feel an incentive here, just start sending her whatever she wants. Can we make that happen? If that's not happening that should be 100% happening. And the ROI on that? off the charts. And that's the crazy thing right?" added Ohanian.

The discussion was also in line with the recent advent of the WNBA "tunnel looks" where athletes' off-court looks are captured as they make their entrance at venues before a match. The pre-game tunnel walk has turned into a fashion moment that gets circulated on social media and helps promote both the game and brands worn by the athletes.

Taking a cue from the WNBA, the WTA also started "Off-court 'fits" at the Canadian Open this year that shared player's pre-game looks via the WTA's Instagram channel.

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"You get so much more value"- Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian on women athletes endorsing fashion brands

Serena Williams(left) and husband Alexis Ohanian(right) with daughter Olympis(center) at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Image: Getty

As per the clip shared by "OffseasonFC" on X, Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian was in favor of women athletes representing fashion brands over influencers. He said while influencers have their ways of garnering followers, women athletes added "more value" to the brand by being at the top of their sport.

He said,

" These brands are sending this stuff to creators, no disrespect creators, who have their followings for, you know, doing a fun little dance, making content people like, no disrespect... But you get so much more value when you have a professional athlete repping this because they just, like, their relevance is for their popularity..."

"They drive the culture at the time," Smith interjected.

"Yeah, it's not that manufactured thing. It's because they have a platform. They've made it to the highest level of their professional sport and like, there's a real following," Ohanian added.

The WTA players, both retired and playing, with the most number of followers include Serena Williams, who has 17.3 million followers on Instagram, Maria Sharapova with 4.5 million, Aryna Sabalenka with 2.3 million, and Naomi Osaka with 2.8 million followers.