Courting Is The Tennis Brand Fashion Girls Are Watching
When I hopped on a Zoom last week with Courtney Kelly, founder of new tennis label Courting, she greeted me with a big smile — and her upbeat energy was immediately palpable. Naturally, Kelly was riding the high of the label’s third collection, which launched just hours before our call. It’s an impressive feat, given that Courting only officially debuted in March during the Indian Wells Open, an annual tennis tournament. “We’ve been working on it for over a year,” Kelly tells TZR.
Fortunately, Kelly brought plenty of fashion industry experience to the table, with past roles in BCBGMAXAZRIA’s marketing department and at publications such as Bustle, Vox, The Atlantic, and Forbes. Still, she always had the itch to start a business of her own. Courting, however, didn’t begin as a clothing brand. After relocating from New York to Los Angeles, Kelly initially dreamed up the concept as a tennis-themed coffee shop, hoping to meet people in her new city. “I was like, ‘If I bring the community together, maybe we can have our own kind of La La Land Cafe with a cute following, but around the game,’” she explains. But as Kelly began exploring merchandise opportunities, she saw the potential for something bigger and ultimately pivoted to tennis-inspired ready-to-wear.
A New York native, Kelly grew up playing tennis in the city during the ‘90s. As such, Courting has a distinct vintage aesthetic, calling back to the styles she once wore both on and off the court. Bold, ‘90s-coded graphics appear throughout the collection. For instance, the Court Ringer tee features contrast red trim and a vintage-inspired tennis photo. Then there are the brand’s Tiebreaker windbreakers, a nostalgic silhouette that’s having a particularly buzzy moment right now. Still, Kelly isn’t necessarily trying to reinvent the wheel with these designs. “We didn’t reimagine the silhouette because it’s so good,” she says of the sporty jacket, which comes in powder blue and navy. Elsewhere in the collection are polo tops, raglan tees, pleated skirts, and mini dresses.
Brand partnerships have been pivotal in Courting’s trajectory. For its second collection, the label teamed up with Whitney Port, whom Kelly has known for years — the former reality star’s husband, Tim Rosenman, grew up with Kelly in NYC, and now the two women play tennis together. After reconnecting, Kelly and Port decided to co-design a capsule that fused ‘90s-inspired streetwear with timeless activewear, which launched in the spring.
Meanwhile, Kelly has been working closely with Budapest-based fashion designer Nini Fucsovics, who joined us on the call. Kelly and Fucsovics — the wife of Hungarian tennis star Marton Fucsovics — met at the aforementioned Indian Wells tournament and immediately hit it off. Kelly gave her a Courting zip-up jacket, and Fucsovics’ post wearing the piece at her husband’s match quickly gained traction. Building on that momentum, the two collaborated on another iteration of the zip-up in cream and navy, along with a full collection featuring a white minidress, navy pleated skirt, socks, and dampeners (small rubber or silicone devices inserted into a racquet’s string bed).
“Of course, Courtney isn’t going to brag about her brand, but the quality is so good,” Fucsovics chimes in during the Zoom. “Even the T-shirts feel so nice to wear; the quality of everything is really elevated,” the designer adds. That attention to quality extends to Courting’s production: Kelly designs everything in Beverly Hills and works with one mill in Italy and two others in Shanghai. “I chose Shanghai every time because the facilities are incredible; they’re run like a surgeon’s office,” Kelly says. In terms of fabrics, Courting has been using wool, TENCEL™, bamboo, polyester, and polyamide. However, Kelly hopes to incorporate more natural fibers and cotton into future collections.
Naturally, Courting is getting in on the US Open action, gifting players pieces to wear, including Varvara Lepchenko and Ema Burgić. The brand also sponsored 22-year-old Calabasas player Katrina Scott. “She did really well; she gave it her all,” Kelly says of Scott.
As for the future of Courting, Kelly hopes to team up with more labels and players, as long as the partnerships feel right. “You'll definitely see us where any tennis brand should be, but then there are times you'll be like, ‘Wait, I wouldn't expect that from them,’” Kelly adds.
For now, shop some of Courting’s bestsellers below. Expect to see a lot more from the brand in the months ahead.
Want to read more?
Check out the full article on the original site