Venus Williams launches fashion line, EleVen, in deal with Steve & Barry's chain

(August 23, 2007) Tennis superstar Venus Williams and retailer Steve & Barry’s announced today they are creating the largest fashion collection ever launched by a female athlete. The collection, called EleVen™ by Venus Williams, features a wide assortment of classic, active lifestyle and performance looks, on-court as well as casual footwear, accessories, and more.

The signature item in the line is the “V-Court,” a high performance, on-court sneaker. Williams, the four-time Wimbledon Champion (including 2007) and two-time U.S. Open Champion, will debut the V-Court during her matches at the U.S. Open next week. Hitting store shelves in time for the Holiday Season this November, EleVen will be sold exclusively at Steve & Barry's stores nationwide.

The launch of EleVen includes over 120 pieces, including nine styles of athletic footwear in a wide variety of color ways, track suits, fleece outerwear, street active apparel, graphic t-shirts, puffy down jackets with removable sleeves, denim jackets and jeans, velour items, tote and gym bags, jewelry, sports socks and bras, and more.

EleVen marks Williams’ first-ever fashion line created with an exclusive retailer. Collaborating with a dedicated team of Steve & Barry’s designers, Williams has immersed herself in the creation of every piece. Having spent much of her personal time over the past several years receiving a formal education in fashion design, Williams is drawing upon her learning to create a collection that represents her confidence and energy on the court, and her personal style, femininity and fun personality off of it.

“I love fashion and the idea that I am using my design education to actually create clothing and footwear that I will wear on and off the tennis court is a dream come true for me,” said Williams. “The vision has been to create a collection that will allow women to easily transition throughout their active lifestyles and still look fashionable. I’m thrilled with everything we’ve created to launch EleVen.”

Williams said the name EleVen comes from the address of the home where she first lived in California, together with her sister Serena and the rest of her family.

“We are excited to welcome Venus Williams to the Steve & Barry’s family,” said Steve & Barry’s President Andy Todd. “Venus represents such fantastic qualities – achievement, fun, style – and she worked hard with our design team to ensure EleVen genuinely represents those attributes in the EleVen collection. Our shoppers are going to love this line.”

Everything in EleVen will be priced at $19.98 and under, including the V-Court sneaker, which will retail for $14.98. While the price point is affordable, the quality of the V-Court is high-end, offering similar construction and styling as many of the most expensive tennis sneakers on the market.

EleVen by Venus Williams will be sold exclusively at Steve & Barry’s stores nationwide beginning mid-November. It will be merchandised in a store-within-store environment featuring specially designed fixtures and signage beginning this November. More information about EleVen and Steve & Barry's is available online at www.elevenbyvenus.com and www.steveandbarrys.com.

New York-based Steve & Barry’s is a leading casual apparel retailer that offers high-quality merchandise at astonishing low prices for men, women and children. Founded in 1985, the company operates over 200 anchor and junior anchor shopping center and mall-based locations throughout the U.S. The entire family can find incredible values on Steve & Barry’s full lines of denim, t-shirts, cargos, jackets, footwear, shorts, sweatshirts, jerseys, hats, hoodies, chinos, tanks, polos and more. Additional information and store locations can be found at www.steveandbarrys.com.


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