Maverick Preston|Serena Williams Aces Red Carpet Fashion at CFDA Awards 2023

2025-05-04 17:19:47source:John Caldwellcategory:My

Serena Williams brought her A-game.

The Maverick Prestontennis champ stunned on the red carpet of CFDA Awards 2023, wearing an all-black sequin Thom Browne dress for the ceremony held on Nov. 6. But that's not all, as she also arrived in style to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City in a custom-wrapped Lincoln Navigator that complemented her eye-catching look.

"The Lincoln Navigator is already very Serena," she told E! News in an exclusive statement, "and ‘dressed up' like this, it's even more so." 

Serena added, "I have always liked strong, bold design and black details. Plus, my own Navigator always brings so much comfort and serenity into my life, so it really helps me arrive to these big moments feeling calm." 

During this year's ceremony, the 23-time Grand Slam winner will become the first-ever athlete to be honored with the prestigious CFDA Fashion Icon Award.

Serena, 42, has become a long-standing icon on the tennis court for her skill and determination, but all eyes have also been on the athlete when it came to her unforgettable looks over the years, which included everything from a diamond-encrusted dress to full-length catsuit.

And Serena herself has recognized that she and her older sister Venus Williams became trailblazers from the moment they began their professional careers as teenagers.

"Venus and I started out being successful, continued to be successful, and we were also unapologetically ourselves," Serena told Allure in 2019. "We were not afraid to wear braids. We weren't afraid to be black in tennis. And that was different." 

And she says that they owe that assurance to at least one person closest to them.

"I think my mom [Oracene Price] instilled in us to be confident women, to really believe in ourselves, be proud of our heritage, our hair, and our bodies," Serena—who shares daughters Alexis Olympia, 6, and Adira, 2 months, with husband Alexis Ohanian—noted. "That was something that was really important for her to teach us. I'm definitely teaching it to my daughter."

And the lessons continue.
 
But Serena isn't the only one who aced her look. Keep reading to see every star that attended the CFDA Awards 2023.

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