Twenty-three times Grand Slam champion Serena Williams says her latest fashion collection which she debuted at the New York Fashion Week was inspired by Africa. In an interview with Essence, Williams, who displayed her first collection last September in New York, commented, "I was thinking of some of my favorite places to travel, which ultimately when I thought about it, was Africa. That’s where I got the giraffe print from. And then also the vegan leather, because I feel like a lot of things, are being killed and we’re not saving the earth. We can all just do one small thing and help out so that was also a lot of our inspiration. I just wanted to do something different and September was more runway. And this was about the designer. A lot of people don’t understand designers and what we think about, but I wanted people to know where I came from. I’ve actually been designing for years and went to school for it. It’s not just something I upped and was like, “Oh, I want to design”. It’s like, “No, I actually studied it,” and so I think it’s really important." Williams said she also wanted a more intimate setting for the show. "It was very few celebrities here, just some of my closest friends. I wanted to focus on the media because they have helped the brand out a lot and also I wanted them to feel special. This is about them, not necessarily the pizazz and all the lights and the cameras." Williams is currently ranked No. 9 in the world and besides her tennis and fashion, she has also been working on several other projects including her campaigns for gender equality in sport and bringing the spotlight to the issues faced by working mothers.