The Daily Summer Celebrates Love Fila with Marion Bartoli

This weekend, fashion and tennis united at The Daily Summer and Fila’s tennis love match. The shindig, which took place at Hampton Racquet in East Hampton, was in celebration of Wimbledon champ Marion Bartoli’s Love Fila collection, featuring the parfait array of clothes for both on and off the court. Guests like Sophie Elgort and Eric Von Stroh, Rich Kids of Beverly Hills’ Bianca Espada, Andrew Warren, Grace Atwood, Lexi Cross, Huston Conti, Jack Pearson, and Ana Herrero came out for the event, as did Nicholas K designers Nicholas and Christopher Kunz, who scored points for playing alongside the tennis star herself.

We caught up with Bartoli on her Hamptons visit before heading back home to Paris where her summer of play—literally—and travel continues.

Did you score any points on the court today?
I played with [Daily Summer publisher] Mark [Tevis] and I didn’t miss one ball. I was so proud of that because I arrived yesterday from Paris and I’m flying back tonight.

Is the tennis scene here a lot different from what you’re used to?
I’ve played in a few cute clubs. Don’t get me wrong—when you walk into Wimbledon, you can use the court year-round, which is really special. This club is absolutely stunning, and I would have loved to stay longer. It’s going to be really hard to go back tonight, but hopefully I will be able to come back and play more tennis and relax.

How often do you visit the Hamptons?
I came for the first time last summer just before the U.S. Open. I have a friend who has a house here with a tennis court in his backyard, which was great, because I was able to chill out before the craziness of Manhattan. It was last year when Serena [Williams] was trying to get the golden slam as well, so the whole city was all about tennis.

Are you competing this year?
I’m commentating, and hopefully there is an invitational event that the USTA will put together. I haven’t gotten the answer yet. It’s also exciting because the special edition of Love Fila we did for Neiman Marcus is going into stores soon.

Any summer travel plans?
I’m traveling all the time [Laughs]. I just came here for 24 hours, so it’s a grueling schedule, but I absolutely adore it. For me it’s not work, it’s just pleasure. It’s just about getting my design and the brand of Fila out there. I love being in the store and seeing the reaction of the customer. We have the launch in Selfridges coming up, so I’ll be going to London. Then I’ll be going to some factories to work on the next collection. Not much rest, but I feel very lucky. At the end of the day, the customer is all that matters.

So no time for vacations in between?
I’m scratching on my calendar because otherwise, I know myself, I would never take any vacation. Hopefully I’ll take one week between the end of Wimbledon and the beginning of the U.S. Open in Croatia touring with a boat to the Mediterranean Sea. And then I’ll go to Paris Fashion Week. But I think it’s important to just go and unplug sometimes. I love to go on yoga retreats, so I will probably do that to relax.

You mentioned Paris Fashion Week. Have you been to New York Fashion Week?
Yeah, of course. Last year’s New York Fashion Week is when I met Anna Wintour.

What did she say to you?
She saw the collection before it was released. I showed her my sketches as well as my jewelry collection and she said ‘I think you have some talent, you should keep going.’ And I was like ‘Yes!’ It was funny because in tennis everyone used to tell me I had zero talent, so for me in fashion to hear people say of my first collection ‘Actually, you have some talent’ is different. There are a lot of young kids coming out, like those who’ve won the LVMH prize. I want to be on the same level as them. I will not rest until I’m there.

Thanks to event sponsors Fila, Peroni, Zico, Splash Mixers and Blat Vodka, Moroccanoil, Maybelline New York and Pierre’s.