Serena Williams Away Collection: Tips for Packing More Efficiently

Whereas the world has been in lockdown for the higher a part of a yr, that doesn’t imply individuals haven’t been fantasizing about journey. Or in the event you’re tennis icon Serena Williams, who travelled virtually nonstop throughout the earlier than occasions, you’re most likely not daydreaming of journey in any respect, you’re simply straight up dreaming—since you’re catching up on some well-deserved sleep. The champion athlete, entrepreneur and mother has been utilizing the time throughout quarantine to do one thing she hardly ever will get to truly do: keep residence.

However simply because Williams isn’t essentially lusting after journey proper now, that doesn’t imply it’s not nonetheless an integral a part of her life. “Baggage and journey are an enormous a part of my way of life,” she tells FLARE. “Once I was youthful, one among my first journey experiences for tennis was going to Europe and that journey actually impressed my love of journey.” This affinity for seeing the world makes her newest assortment with luxurious suitcase model Away a pure match. Forward of the January 28 launch of her second assortment with the model, Away x Serena Williams, the athlete spoke to FLARE in regards to the inspiration behind her assortment, how journey has modified as she’s taken on new roles, and why she was completely happy to remain put throughout quarantine.

Serena Williams’s baggage assortment was impressed by her favorite locations—and her professional packing abilities

Whereas she launched her first assortment with Away in January 2020, when the world was extra open for journey, Williams’s newest assortment was designed and created beneath a lot completely different circumstances. “I actually wished to create one thing that spoke to the patron,” Williams says. “[With] the final assortment, I introduced one thing that was extra designed on the within, so I wished to have the main target [for this collection] be on the skin.” And whereas it’s been awhile since many individuals have hopped on a airplane for worldwide journey, it’s faraway locales that impressed the exteriors of her Williams’s baggage. The items have been influenced by a few of her prime journey locations, and the nostalgia of the recollections she has from visiting them.

“Rome is one among my absolute favorite locations on the earth,” she says. “I miss exploring town and taking within the structure. The intricate particulars of the buildings have been an enormous inspiration for me on this assortment.” (She additionally loves Paris, a spot Williams says feels virtually like residence. It helps that Williams speaks French!)

(Picture: Away)

And never solely is it her love of sure cities that influenced the gathering, however her abilities as an professional packer, one thing she honed over her a few years of journey. “I’ve discovered that I’ve been in a position to create a system for packing that retains me much less burdened whereas touring. I’m actually organized and sometimes begin planning weeks prematurely,” she says. The Away x Serena Williams assortment includes a set of 4 expandable packing cubes, one thing Williams swears by for staying organized and remembering necessities.

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The function of journey has modified for her as she’s gotten older

As knowledgeable athlete, entrepreneur and one among Fast Company‘s 42 most productive people, Williams isn’t any stranger to taking up completely different, usually high-stress roles, which is why when she travels, she prefers to maintain it comparatively low-key. The mother to three-year-old Alexis Olympia doesn’t have a ritual for when she travels to a brand new place, like operating by town to sightsee or going procuring. Principally as a result of she doesn’t normally have time to do these issues. “Once I journey I’m at all times working,” she says, “so I’m at all times superb to relaxation [in her downtime].”

However as her life has developed, so has the way in which she views journey—particularly since changing into a mother. “I’ll at all times be a traveler at coronary heart, however I usually discover myself so targeted on work that I don’t get to discover all of the cities I go to. As I’ve gotten older, I’m additionally now touring as a mom, which provides a complete new dimension of chaos and stress, but it surely makes visiting new locations a lot extra rewarding and pleasant,” she says.

And as soon as it’s secure to journey for pleasure, Williams is aware of the primary place on her record. “I really like wherever within the Caribbean, in order that’s at all times on my record to go.”

Williams has used quarantine as a time to really loosen up

Whereas many individuals consider air journey as an exercise that brings them pleasure, with that out of the query after an general difficult yr, it’s inevitable that they’d search for different actions and hobbies to fill the void. Whether or not it was baking sourdough or studying how one can knit, quarantine actions have been all the trend in 2020 as a solution to go the time at residence. However for Williams, it wasn’t cooking or studying a brand new language that introduced her pleasure, it was merely staying residence in and of itself. “For me, [what brought me joy in 2020] was staying residence as a result of I do journey a lot,” she says. “So essentially the most pleasant second for me was staying residence. I’ve by no means been residence this lengthy since I used to be a youngster.”

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(Picture: Away)

And don’t fear, we are going to journey once more

Regardless of how the world feels proper now, it’s not frivolous to consider shopping for your self or your family members some stylish new baggage. Not solely can or not it’s a form of self-care for some, as an emblem of one thing to sit up for, however as a result of “individuals are going to start out touring once more,” Williams asserts. “And whenever you journey you wish to journey with one of the best tools and that’s Away.”