Sharapova's Scots designer gives critic shorts shrift

Published on Friday 27 June 2008 22:05

IT SHOULD have been remembered as one of the greatest upsets in Wimbledon history: a player ranked 154th in the world knocking out a former Ladies' champion on No1 court.

But instead of a tale of dedication and heroism, the victory of Alla Kudryavtseva over fellow Russian Maria Sharapova has prompted an unseemly catfight over the loser's dress sense that has now dragged in the Scottish designer of Sharapova's Nike outfit.

After her win on Thursday, Kudryavtseva, 20, the daughter of an ex-world champion at Greco-Roman wrestling who has a rotweiller named Ralph, was asked if she was glad to have beaten Sharapova.

"Yes, it's very pleasant to beat Maria," she said. This was followed by a long pause, after which she explained smilingly that this was because: "I don't like her outfit. Can I put it this way? It was one of my motivations to beat her."

Sticking her stiletto heel in further, she said of the "sheer tux and shorts" combo: "It's a little too much of everything. I'm not very good in fashion. She experiments and I give her credit for that. Sometimes she has good ones, sometimes not."

But last night the Scot who designed Sharapova's outfit joined the debate, criticising Kudryavtseva's remarks and describing her functional tennis attire as "understated".

Colleen Sandieman, 45, from Paisley, a leading designer with sports giant Nike who has created outfits for other tennis stars including Serena Williams, said: "I was quite shocked when I heard she had been saying this about the outfit.

"I didn't think it was very sporting. The outfit is 100 per cent functional for tennis, although it does have a glamor-ous look.

"I shouldn't say too much about it in case it starts trouble. Both girls are Russian and there will be a fierce competition there. I have seen Kudryavtseva's outfit and, without going into it too much, I would describe it as understated.

"I will be working with Maria for the foreseeable future and hopefully she will be back on top soon. Maria said she loved the outfit and didn't think that had anything to do with her defeat."

Ms Sandieman, based at Nike's European headquarters in Amsterdam, studied for an honours degree in menswear fashion design at Newcastle University and has worked for the company for six years.

Describing the inspiration for her designs, she said: "We try to capture the atmosphere of each tournament. We weren't sure if Maria would wear a 'short', but it felt right for the season.

"But she thought it was a fantastic idea and she fell in love with it straightaway. Wimbledon has a lot of tradition and we felt we wanted to capture that tradition and formality.

"There is a bit of England in Maria's design, but it is also sexy and beautiful on her. The short has a lot of technology, with bonded seams, covered buttons and lots of details."

Richard Gray, fashion and features director of luxury style magazine 10, thought the SW19 bitching detracted from the sport. "It's all a bit naff," he said. "Who cares what she's wearing as long as she wins. As someone working in fashion, I think having a spat takes attention away from incredible athleticism and discipline involved in tennis."