On Dec. 3, Coco Gauff will be honored with the Style Influencer of the Year award at the 39th annual FN Achievement Awards. Below is an article from the magazine’s Dec. 1 print issue about Gauff’s fashion prowess and role as a guiding light for young women.
This summer, Coco Gauff walked out on the court at Wimbledon in a custom New Balance white kilt and corset top embroidered with butterflies, strawberries and flowers — paired with a special colorway of the CG2, her signature shoe.
It was one of the tennis star’s favorite looks of the year and a creative interpretation of the Grand Slam’s all-white dress code.
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Many fans loved it, while a handful of critics had a different take. “Some of the people who didn’t like it thought it looked like a wedding dress, but that was kind of the point. When I think of white, I think of a wedding,” Gauff told FN, quickly adding that she’s not walking down the aisle anytime soon.
Gauff was speaking on the phone from South Florida on a Wednesday evening in November, after wrapping a shoot for Naked Smoothie. The 21-year-old was fresh off the WTA Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the last big tournament in a year she called a “roller coaster.”
“I started off great and didn’t do so well between the American and Middle East swing — and obviously did super well in the clay season and was able to finish the year off strong,” said Gauff, who won her first French Open singles title in May.
While she was navigating the ups and downs of the game, Gauff also got everyone talking about her on-court fashion.
The athlete is heavily involved in the design of her New Balance Grand Slam outfits, and this year, the longtime partners injected some new excitement into her ensembles for other big tour stops.
As the face of the New Balance x Miu Miu collaboration, Gauff was proud to wear clothing and shoes from the tie-up in three high-profile tournaments: Rome, Berlin and Cincinnati. (For more on FN’s Collaboration of the Year, see page 58.)
“As a kid, when I saw Serena [Williams] wear Off-White, I knew I wanted to work with a big fashion house for my kits,” Gauff recalled. “I didn’t know who it would be with, but this was a dream collaboration.”
Taking her relationship with Miu Miu a step further, Gauff inked a deal to become a U.S. face for Miu Miu Beauty in September. Alongside Chloë Sevigny and Paloma Elsesser, Gauff fronted a digital project for the label’s Miutine fragrance.
Now that she has several major projects under her belt, the athlete is dreaming up new goals in the fashion arena. But she’s determined not to put herself in a corner.
“I realized I like to experiment with everything,” Gauff said. “On court, I’ve done a lot of things with New Balance that haven’t been done before. Off court, it’s all me trying to figure out how to express myself on a particular day.”
Actress, producer and entrepreneur Storm Reid, who won FN’s Style Influencer of the Year award in 2023, lauded Gauff’s fearlessness. “She takes risks yet always stays true to who she is,” Reid said. “But being a style influencer isn’t just about the clothes. Coco is not afraid to use her influence to give back and stand up for what’s right — a value that we share deeply.”
Below, Gauff sounds off on the value of being vulnerable, discovering the power of fashion and her own style icons.
What is your first core fashion memory?
“[Early on], I was obsessed with visors. My real name is Cori, and my mom came up with this ‘IROC’ logo, which is Cori spelled backwards. She made custom visors — I had at least 20 colors — and custom towels, so I would match my visor to the towel that I would use for the match, and I also had a bow in my hair. That was my first experiment with fashion — I was 6 or 7 years old. My mom might still have the visors. I still have the towels. Later, I decided to name my production company after that logo.”
How do you contribute to the design of your on-court New Balance ensembles? What do you care about most?
“I give a lot of feedback, mainly on the Grand Slam outfits, because those are the ones I care about the most. Every year, we have a design meeting. It’s like a playground. We cut up fashion magazines and look at Pinterest. We have four boards for each of the Grand Slams. Comfort is always the number-one priority. If it’s not comfortable, I won’t play in it. I love to dress up, but I love winning more. I would love to
experiment even more, but some of the things I would like to play in probably wouldn’t be possible.”
You signed with New Balance when you were 14. What’s it been like to grow up with the brand?
“It doesn’t feel like a partnership; it’s a relationship. We’re working together to make each other better. I want to help grow New Balance. Now, they’re really part of pop culture, but when I signed with them I don’t know if that was the case as much. They want to help me build my brand and my space in fashion.”
New Balance also helped lead you to a separate deal with Miu Miu in the beauty space.
“To work on both sides of things was cool. I like to tell stories of my partnerships, and I try to make sure they’re extended deals and not something that’s a one-off. I don’t like to confuse my audience. I was lucky that Miu Miu wanted to continue with me and I wanted to continue with them.”
Brand partners and fans connect with your authenticity and realness, both on and off the court. Do you try to show up a certain way?
“[Earlier in my career], I felt I had to be perfect because I could feel the weight of people looking up to me. But then I found that with my own idols and people I looked up to, it was the moments they were vulnerable that made me feel seen. I don’t have to show up perfect all the time. For me, I just try to show up in all environments as myself. [For instance], at the US Open this year, I was crying to get through the match, and I ended up winning. Vulnerability is OK, and the best athletes in the world have vulnerable times. That’s not something you should dim. It’s something that you should show light to. No one’s life is up all the time. It’s all about how you respond in down moments.”
As someone who is constantly in the limelight, how do you navigate your social media presence and what do you pay attention to?
“There’s no strategy. I just post when I feel like it. TikTok is my favorite. People are way nicer there because it’s a much younger audience. Instagram, not so much. We get a lot of bettors in our sport, so they’ll get a little bit mean. I try to read a lot of DMs on Instagram because they’re mainly supportive. Sometimes people want a video for their friend or daughter, so I’ll look out for those messages.”
Who else on the tennis circuit has great style?
“I really like Naomi Osaka’s oufits. She does a great job of being creative and doing things that haven’t been done. We’re always looking at each other. Her style is more camp, which is cool. Maybe someday I’ll try and do something campy.”
When it comes to fashion advice, who do you listen to?
“The only person I take seriously is my boyfriend. He gives good advice. I am going to a music festival, and I was trying on outfits on the phone with him.”
Who are your personal style icons?
“My biggest is probably Rihanna. I like her because she can rock both masculine and super-feminine ’fits. You can see her in a range of aesthetics.”
Let’s talk shoes. Earlier this year, you said high heels were your “kryptonite.” Where do you stand now?
“I don’t mind a heel so much. I just prefer it to be a platform. But I’ve learned that can’t always be the case. I do love the look of it, it’s just the process is insane. After 10 minutes, I’m done. I’m still trying to figure out my endurance. I might need to be like Zendaya — I heard Law Roach had her walking around the house in heels [when she was younger]. Maybe I’m more of a kitten heel kind of girl.”
What’s your take on the ugly shoe craze? Is there any shoe you wouldn’t wear?
“I used to be anti-Crocs, and then recently I was gifted Crocs that had some cute charms and I wear them. I don’t think there’s any ugly shoe. I thought about buying some [Maison Margiela] Tabis, but I need to try them on. I’m not quite into the sneaker wedges yet. But maybe next year I’ll like them. There have been times when I said I would never wear something and then a year later, I like it.”
For 39 years, the annual FN Achievement Awards — often called the “Shoe Oscars” — have celebrated the style stars, best brand stories, ardent philanthropists, emerging talents and industry veterans. The 2025 event is supported by Caleres, Listrak, Nordstrom, Skechers, Vibram and Wolverine Worldwide.
