Serena Williams doesn’t have fashion regrets.
While she was crowned Fashion Icon at the 2023 CFDA Fashion Awards and has been praised for her lively on-court style (namely her controversial catsuits) while playing tennis, Williams hasn’t always been hailed a style hero — but she doesn’t care.
“Listen, I think being on worst dressed lists is important,” Williams told People in the magazine’s 50th Anniversary Issue. “I’ve loved every style that I’ve made and, you know, you don’t love them looking back all the time, but I appreciate them.”
She continued, “I think fashion is a way to express yourself and express your personality and express who you are and what you are. Sometimes it’s the only way the world can see you is through your style. And so for me, whether it’s the best list or the worst dressed list, it’s all kind of cool. Hey, at least I made a list. … I’ve had lots of different looks, but you know what, you can’t take any of it back. I’m leaning into all of them.”
Williams previously told the publication in a 2008 profile, “I’ve been on the worst dressed lists and I don’t care.”
At the 2023 CFDA Awards, Williams — who had just given birth to her second child, daughter Adira, in August 2023 with husband Alexis Ohanian — graced the red carpet in a plunging black sequin gown by Thom Browne, which she paired with a billowing cape.
More recently, at the 2024 Vanity Fair Oscar Party in March, Williams rocked a fitted black gown by Off-White, which featured red and white embroidery at the bodice and on her ballroom gloves.
Williams frequently tapped Off-White when playing tennis. She famously rocked an Off-White x Nike tutu at the U.S. Open in August 2018. The ballerina-inspired dress, which was designed by the late Virgil Abloh, came from the brand’s “QUEEN” collection.
The unconventional — but now iconic — getup came after Williams was under fire for wearing a black Nike catsuit at the French Open just days prior. The French Tennis Federation took issue with the onesie, banning the look amid a new dress code rule. Williams, however, wore the piece for health reasons. The catsuit doubled as a full-body compression garment made to help with blood clots, which Williams has been dealing with for years. The health issue increased after she gave birth to daughter Olympia in September 2017.
