EleVen by Venus Williams
Venus Williams
Brand Information
Mission
To empower athletes and active individuals by providing high-quality, stylish athletic wear that enhances performance and confidence.
Vision
To be the leading brand in athletic wear, known for merging fashion with function and inspiring a lifestyle of excellence and empowerment.
Core Values
Target Audience
Demographics
Psychographics
Brand Voice
Confident, inspiring, and empowering with a focus on excellence and style.
Content Pillars
About EleVen by Venus Williams
EleVen by Venus Williams delivers chic, performance-driven athletic wear designed by the tennis icon herself.
About Venus Williams
Venus Williams is a renowned professional tennis player, widely recognized for her powerful playing style and significant contributions to the sport.
She turned professional in 1994 and quickly rose to prominence, becoming the first African American woman in the Open Era to achieve the world No. 1 ranking in singles. Her early career was marked by a series of impressive victories, including multiple Grand Slam titles. Throughout her illustrious career, Venus has won seven Grand Slam singles titles and numerous doubles titles, often partnering with her sister, Serena Williams. Her impact on tennis extends beyond the court, as she has been a trailblazer for gender equality and an advocate for equal prize money in the sport. Venus's contributions have earned her numerous accolades, including induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2022, solidifying her legacy as one of the greatest athletes in tennis history.
The Story
EleVen by Venus Williams is a lesson in celebrity entrepreneurship: born from a champion’s design training and on-court credibility in November 2007, repeatedly reborn through strategic collaborations (K‑Swiss 2020, Amazon 2022, Lacoste 2023) and finally paused in February 2024 as its founder recalibrated a small but culturally resonant activewear business. ([tampabay.com]([1]), [tennis.com]([2]), [essence.com]([3]), [corporate.lacoste.com]([4]))
When Venus Williams introduced EleVen to the market in November 2007, it arrived as the product of equal parts formal training and hard-earned court credibility. Williams, who earned an associate degree in fashion design from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale in December 2007, teamed with mass‑market retailer Steve & Barry’s to launch a more-than-120‑piece, value-priced active and lifestyle collection that debuted in stores in November 2007. The line—priced at $19.98 and below at launch, and driven by a signature 'V‑Court' sneaker—was explicitly designed to put performance-minded aesthetics within reach. ([upi.com]([1]), [irenenewman.com]([2]), [tampabay.com]([3]))
The early origin story reads like a case study in celebrity leverage: Williams brought technical credibility (she had been designing the on‑court looks she wore for years), runway and classroom training, and the global visibility of a top‑ranked athlete; Steve & Barry’s brought distribution at scale and an aggressively low‑price model. The combination let EleVen launch with a large assortment (120+ SKUs) and significant in‑store presence almost immediately—an unusual start for a celebrity label that more commonly begins as a boutique or direct‑to‑consumer play. ([irenenewman.com]([2]), [glamour.com]([4]))
But the launch partner’s collapse exposed one of the core risks of licensing and distribution dependence. Steve & Barry’s overreach and subsequent bankruptcy and liquidation in 2008–2009 disrupted EleVen’s initial distribution architecture and forced Venus to confront the realities of supply‑chain and partner risk early in the brand’s life. Williams later called the episode a “messy lesson” in self‑reliance, and it pushed EleVen toward collaborations and selective wholesale and e‑commerce strategies in subsequent years. ([en.wikipedia.org]([5]), [inc.com]([6]))
Across the 2010s EleVen operated as a compact, founder‑led brand rather than a venture-backed scaling machine. Venus stayed personally involved—studying design formally, signing off on collections, and positioning EleVen as performance‑led but style-forward—while relying on partnerships for product amplification. The strategy was pragmatic: instead of massive capex for standalone retail, EleVen pursued capsule collaborations (notably with K‑Swiss in November 2020) and distribution placements on large platforms. That K‑Swiss capsule included limited‑edition footwear and jackets and carried a roughly $120 price point for the shoe, signaling a move upmarket from the brand’s original dollar‑square model. ([tennis.com]([7]), [kswiss.com]([8]))
EleVen’s post‑2007 arc shows how a small celebrity brand can wedge itself into mainstream retail through a mix of tactical partnerships. The brand reappeared on Amazon during a November 2022 spotlight drop—items listed with retail prices ranging roughly from $48 to $148—allowing EleVen to reach a broader customer base without the cost structure of owned retail. In November 2023, EleVen’s profile got another jolt when Lacoste — a global sportswear heritage brand — announced an 18‑piece Lacoste x EleVen capsule developed with Venus, positioning her label alongside an established legacy name and putting EleVen into a higher‑visibility, international context. ([essence.com]([9]), [corporate.lacoste.com]([10]))
Commercially, EleVen appears to have remained a modest business rather than a mass‑market incumbent. Public financials are not available: the brand did not operate as a stand‑alone public company and there are no verified SEC filings or published audited revenues. Third‑party business directories estimate EleVen’s annual revenue in the low millions (a common range for niche celebrity‑led apparel lines), while retail placements and partnership SKUs (Amazon, K‑Swiss, Lacoste) suggest the brand pursued profitable, low‑overhead channels over growth‑at‑all‑costs scaling. The lack of disclosed venture rounds or outside growth capital kept operations small and founder‑centric. ([cience.com]([11]), [essence.com]([9]))
By February 9, 2024 Venus Williams informed wholesale partners that she was pausing EleVen’s operations temporarily to "refine our strategies and enhance the overall brand experience," initiating a clearance of remaining inventory (online discounts reported as high as 80% off). That move—framed publicly as a strategic pause rather than a shuttering—mirrored the brand’s cyclical pattern of experimentation through partnerships and suggested a desire to rethink everything from supply chain to product assortment before the next scaling attempt. It left EleVen in a hiatus state: not dead, but not actively growing in the public retail marketplace. ([tennis.com]([12]), [womenstennisblog.com]([13]))
From a product and positioning standpoint EleVen’s most defensible assets were Venus’s authenticity and a pragmatic approach to partnerships. The brand never tried to be everything to everyone; it leaned on Venus’s tennis heritage (on‑court skirts, performance fabrics) while stretching into everyday athleisure. Collaborations with K‑Swiss and Lacoste gave EleVen legitimacy with footwear and heritage sportswear audiences, and Amazon exposure provided scale without the capital intensity of brick‑and‑mortar expansion. Those choices kept fixed costs low but also constrained upside: without large wholesale/platform agreements or outside growth capital, EleVen’s distribution and marketing budget were limited. ([forbes.com]([14]), [corporate.lacoste.com]([10]))
EleVen’s arc offers a clear playbook and cautionary tale for other celebrity entrepreneurs: use fame as a launchpad, not as a substitute for operational rigor. A strong founding narrative and visible collaborations can extend a brand’s life across cycles, but partner concentration (Steve & Barry’s), inconsistent scale, and limited capital to own supply‑chain resilience left EleVen vulnerable to external shocks. The 2024 pause suggests the founder prefers control and craftsmanship over a fire‑sale growth strategy—something that both strengthens brand credibility and limits investor appetite for large, fast returns. ([inc.com]([6]), [tennis.com]([12]))
Where EleVen goes next depends on one question: does Venus want to convert it from a boutique, founder‑led platform into a vertically integrated, capitalized business? The options are clear—sell the label to a strategic partner (licensing or acquisition), raise capital to build DTC scale, or continue a nimble partnership model focused on capsules and co‑brands. As of the Feb 2024 pause, the brand’s fate was in Williams’ hands: a chance to repackage a culturally resonant, small‑scale business into something broader—or to keep it as a boutique expression of a champion’s design sensibility. ([tennis.com]([12]), [corporate.lacoste.com]([10]))
Key Milestones
- November 15, 2007: Public launch of EleVen by Venus Williams as an exclusive collection at Steve & Barry's; debut assortment reportedly exceeded 120 pieces and included the V‑Court sneaker. ([chron.com]([1]), [irenenewman.com]([2]))
- December 14, 2007: Venus Williams earned an associate degree in fashion design from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale—an achievement she cited as directly influencing the EleVen collections. ([upi.com]([3]))
- November–December 2008 (retail collapse through 2009): Steve & Barry’s, EleVen’s initial retail partner, filed for bankruptcy and liquidated stores across 2008–2009—an event that disrupted EleVen’s distribution and forced a rethink of the brand’s business model. ([en.wikipedia.org]([4]), [inc.com]([5]))
- November 11, 2020: EleVen collaborated with K‑Swiss on a limited‑edition apparel and footwear capsule—the collection included a Classic K‑Swiss 66 x Eleven tennis shoe priced around $120. ([tennis.com]([6]), [kswiss.com]([7]))
- November 18, 2022: EleVen launched a selection of product on Amazon in the U.S.; coverage noted price points roughly between $48 and $148 for different pieces. ([essence.com]([8]))
- November 8, 2023: Lacoste announced an 18‑piece Lacoste x EleVen by Venus Williams capsule, signaling a high‑profile collaboration with a global sportswear brand. ([corporate.lacoste.com]([9]), [essence.com]([10]))
- February 9, 2024: Venus Williams notified retail partners that EleVen would pause operations temporarily to 'refine strategy' and ran a warehouse clearance (discounts reported up to 80% off), marking the brand’s most recent public‑facing status change. ([tennis.com]([11]), [womenstennisblog.com]([12]))
Related News
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