Players relish new-look raucous Wimbledon

LONDON – - Players do not have to wear white kit, the traditional dark green colour scheme on court has been replaced by bright pink and purple, music blares from speakers around the grounds and the crowds are raucous.

Welcome to new-look Wimbledon, the British institution steeped in traditions the world’s top players were very familiar with – until the Olympics rolled into town.

“Wimbledon is so quiet. You don’t hear much talking. But here you do hear talking. It’s a really big crowd. It’s exciting,” said Serena Williams, returning to Centre Court less than a month after winning her fifth Wimbledon title on it.

Since the tournament ended, the All England club grounds have undergone a complete transformation. As well as the bright colours, Olympic rings now adorn the courts, even hanging from the nets.

“It’s just like being in Wimbledon but not being in Wimbledon,” mused Slovakia’s Daniela Hantuchova.

With spectators sporting their country flags, chatting, cheering and clapping at every pause of play, the atmosphere on court is very different from the usually sedate Wimbledon crowd and more like the U.S. Open in New York.

Not everyone is finding it easy to get used to, with crying babies being asked for “quiet please” by the umpire and spectators shushing the raised voices of international media commentating animatedly from the back of the stands.

“The Wimbledon crowd is (normally) very mellow and traditional but you go out today and everyone’s representing their country, shouting and screaming with flags all over the place,” said former Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova who made her Olympic debut on Monday after missing the 2008 Games through injury.

“It’s a completely different atmosphere but it’s really magical.”

With tickets for Wimbledon – allocated through tennis clubs, a public ballot and a daily queue at the gate for the most hardcore fans – heavily oversubscribed every year, many spectators are visiting the club for the first time.

“It’s a slightly different crowd to Wimbledon,” said Britain’s Andy Murray who received a reception at his first-round match against Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka.

“It’s just weird – there are so many colours, there is a lot of noise with the music and stuff when you come out that you don’t get at Wimbledon, which is slightly different. The support was great.”

While not all have warmed to the changes, with Israel’s Shahar Peer lamenting the missing sense of tradition after going out in the first round to Russian Sharapova, most have enjoyed the experience.

“They have the Mexican wave going basically after one set, which is unusual. That took me an entire tournament and four sets against Murray in the finals to get the first Mexican wave,” said world number one Roger Federer, whose victory over Murray won him a record-equalling seventh Wimbledon title this month.

“Things are clearly a big change from a few weeks ago. I’m happy I’ve had a taste of it.” (Editing by Ed Osmond)

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‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ inspires Marc New York’s debut ad campaign

The influence of international bestseller Fifty Shades of Grey has reached a new level, with Marc New York’s debut ad campaign being inspired by the erotic novel.

Penned by British writer E. L. James, the first book in the Fifty Shades series became an international phenomenon in 2011 and subsequent titles Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed were just as popular.

Telling the story of a 21-year-old English literature student called Anastasia Steele and her kinky billionaire lover Christian Grey, Fifty Shades of Grey has now inspired Andrew Marc’s creative director Chris Gbur.

Marc New York, a division of luxury label Andrew Marc, is advertising for the first time this fall, choosing 2008 Miss Universe winner Dayana Mendoza and former Scottish rugby player Thom Evans to appear in the Fifty Shades style shoot.

Marc New York is known for its men’s outerwear, knitwear, neckwear and accessories, while the women’s collection includes outerwear, dresses, handbags and sunglasses. For the campaign Evans simply has a low hanging towel to protect his modesty, while Mendoza wears a slinky zipped down dress.

The news of the campaign comes shortly after UK tailors Norton Townsend announced a menswear collection inspired by Fifty Shades of Grey’s protagonist Christian, while earlier this year UK company Caroline Mickler Ltd announced that a line of beauty products, lingerie, jewelry, bedding and home furnishings inspired by the highly successful series is on the cards.

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