Coming soon to Netflix: “Serena in Paris.”
OK, not quite. But the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion did step out at a pair of shows this week for Paris Fashion Week for the fashion houses Balmain and Off-White.
Serena Williams wore a black, midi dress adorned with a white rose down the front to the Balmain show, which was also attended by singer Cher and actress Ashley Park, who plays the role of Mindy Chen on “Emily in Paris,” and was joined at the Off-White show by models Alessandra Ambrosio and Ashley Graham, recording artists Halle Bailey and Willow Smith, and actress Lisa Rinna, among others.
Serena Williams got a sneak peek at the brands’ 2024-25 fall and winter collections at the shows, but she owns a personal connection to the Off-White fashion house in particular — which was founded by Virgil Abloh, a close friend.
Abloh, who passed away in 2021 after a battle with cancer, collaborated with Williams’ longtime apparel sponsor Nike to design her match clothes for the 2018 US Open and the 2019 French Open. He also designed her a pair of custom Nike Air Force 1s for the 2019 Met Gala.
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In February of 2022, Williams walked the runway in the designer’s honor at Paris Fashion Week. She paid tribute to her late friend again on Instagram by posting “#VirgilForever” to go along with snapshots of the outfit she wore for this year’s show — a black, bodycon dress with cutouts along the sides, and a black-and-white varsity letter jacket.
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At Off-White show, Williams joked with The People Gallery — an influential fashion TikTok account run by Brookyln-based stylist Maurice Kamara that boasts 1 million followers — that her “high-school boyfriend” gifted her the accent piece, and offered a style tip to fashion mavens everywhere.
“My style tip [is] be yourself. Own who you are, be OK with that,” she said. “If you want to be different, it’s OK to be different. Just be you.”
