Serena Williams Hailed As “Fashion Icon” On Major Fashion Industry Awards Night
Kim Kardashian gave Williams the Fashion Icon award, making her the first athlete to do so after she retired from tennis last year.
Serena Williams, a tennis expert, spoke to a glittering crowd in the world of fashion about how, growing up in the spotlight and using the tennis court as her runway, fashion became a favorite means of expression.
Williams stated, “I explored fashion and style as a way to distinguish myself as a little girl because I knew when I was unique,” as she won the Fashion Icon award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America on Monday night.
“I saw the U.S. Open as my own version of New York Fashion Week, and the tennis courts as my runway in many respects.” As a means of expressing “my distinctiveness, my trustworthiness, and most importantly, my culture,” she explained, reimagining the classic tennis suit.
As the inaugural laureate of the Fashion Icon Award, Williams ended her tennis career last year. Kim Kardashian, a CFDA honoree the previous year, gave Williams the trophy. Williams was described by Kardashian as “the greatest of all time—fearless, heroic, authentic, and iconic.”
Anne Hathaway chaired the Oscar-like ceremony for the fashion industry.
Held in Manhattan’s American Museum of Natural History and presented by Anne Hathaway, this was the fashion industry’s version of Oscar night.
At the annual top designer awards, Willy Chavarria took home the menswear title, while Catherine Holstein of Khaite was declared the winner for ladies. Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen from the clothing line The Row won the prize for accessories.
Among other accolades, Gwyneth Paltrow received the Innovation Award from Demi Moore for her 15-year-old lifestyle business, Goop. The CFDA board of directors honored Vera Wang with a tribute by Vanessa Hudgens for her contributions to the wedding business. Laura Linney gave a lifetime achievement award to Maria Cornejo, the designer.
A celebration of hip-hop’s 50th anniversary featured a short video directed by Hype Williams, which was introduced by Mary J. Blige and featured music by Pharrell.
Serena Williams, who is 42 years old, stated that she had to make the difficult decision to concentrate on being a mother when she decided to abandon tennis. Just over a year after her final match as a professional tennis player, she gave birth to a baby girl in August.
Williams’ spouse, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, is the parent of Adira River Ohanian, who is their second child and daughter. Olympia was born in 2017 and was their first child.
She talked warmly throughout her speech about how she had discovered how to express her talent on the court. She recalled, “I made denim skirts, wore bodysuits and tutus in purple, and braided and beaded my hair.” To be honest, I was just having fun.”
In her tennis career, Serena Williams explored fashion, and in 2018 she debuted her clothing brand, “S by Serena,” with the goal of “inspiring women to accept their bodies and love who they are regardless of their size, ethnicity, or money,” as she stated in her speech.
Of all her gratitude, she reserved the final one for her mother, who had made the first tennis clothes for me when I was a child. She said that I still retain my creativity because of what she taught me about sewing.
Amazon Fashion is responsible for presenting the CFDA Awards. Additional accolades: Jonathan Anderson for JW Anderson and Loewe won the international award; Alina Cho took home the media award; Domenico De Sole was named the founder’s award winner; and Mara Hoffman was named a sustainability winner.
