Serena Williams is being honored as 'fashion icon' at fashion's big awards night
Serena Williams will be honored at Monday’s Council of Fashion Designers of America awards for her career and contributions to American fashion
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Serena Williams will be honored at Monday’s Council of Fashion Designers of America awards for her career and contributions to American fashion.
Williams, who retired from tennis last year, is the first athlete to win the CFDA's Fashion Icon award. In addition to her groundbreaking tennis career, she is being honored for her work as a designer herself, as an entrepreneur and as a philanthropist.
The fashion industry’s equivalent of the Oscars will be held at the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan and hosted by Anne Hathaway.
When Williams, now 42, retired from tennis, she said she needed to make the tough choice to focus on motherhood. She gave birth in August to a baby girl, almost exactly a year after her last match as a tennis star. Adira River Ohanian is the second child — and second daughter — for Williams and her husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. Their first, Olympia, was born in 2017.
Williams was making news in fashion well before her retirement from tennis. In 2018, she launched her “S by Serena” clothing line, and in 2019, a jewelry line. In a statement before the event, designer and current CFDA chairman Thom Browne called Williams “one of the most inspiring people in the world ... representing greatness on the highest level." She has been, Browne said, “the ultimate example of individuality in everything she does” and “a true fashion icon.”
In her own remarks, Williams said that ever since she was a little girl, “I’ve used fashion as an outlet to express myself. Fashion gave me the confidence to step on the court and own who I was, and where I knew I was going.”
She added: “My dream of owning my own brand, S by Serena, has become a reality ... I have had so much fun learning my style and allowing it to change as my life has evolved, but I’ve always held one thing true: Fashion is for everyone, no matter your size, race, or income."
Willy Chavarria, whose has created looks worn by Bad Bunny and Venus Williams, among others, won the menswear designer of the year award.
The CFDA awards are presented by Amazon Fashion.
Last year, Kim Kardashian was honored for her shapewear line and used the occasion to call for designers to be inclusive of all body shapes.
___
This story corrects the age of Serena Williams. She is 42.