Serena Williams Stuns With a New Hair Color at the Sports Illustrated Party

Hair, Blond, Hairstyle, Eyebrow, Beauty, Long hair, Brown hair, Chin, Lip, Hair coloring,

(Image credit: Rachel Luna)

published 19 July 2019

Serena Williams, goddess, nabbed the cover of the Sports Illustrated 2019 Fashionable 50 issue (what, you were surprised??) and attended the party last night looking terribly gorgeous, per usual. But my favorite part might be her new hairstyle and color: long, gorgeous, golden, ombre waves, done by Vernon Francois, that I am totally in love with.

To complete the new lewk, Serena paired a simple patent skirt with white tank top and chunky jewelry (Lora Arellano was her makeup artist, per Instagram). Serena provided a few Insta Stories of the night, including a few videos with stylist Kesha McLeod. She also modeled in front of a giant reproduction of her cover, because when you're an icon, you can totally do that. Here's a look at the full outfit:

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Here's a closeup of her new 'do:

Sports Illustrated Fashionable 50 - Arrivals

And, for context, this was her color just last week at Wimbledon:

Championship, Athlete, Human, Photography, Competition event, Player,

Serena's also thinking about her fashion future. In the Sports Illustrated interview, Serena said, "For me, it’s important to have something beyond tennis because I have always planned on it...My dad was like, You can’t just play tennis forever, even though I kind of have."

"I have this whole big vision of what S by Serena is going to be," she said.

"My whole career has been really about tennis and fashion. I always try to make a statement when I walk out on the court—to be bold and to be unique and to kind of transcend. I always try to send the message of just being confident and being fierce," she added.

When she played at Wimbledon this year, Serena wore a particularly special "broosh," combining the iconic Nike logo with 34 Swarovski crystals to represent the age she was when she last won the tournament. And she defied catsuit critics at the French Open by wearing an empowering cape with words like "Queen," "Champion," and "Mother" on it. AND her Sports Illustrated cover is really just the fire emoji personified:

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So she's absolutely killing it (tennis-wise and fashion-wise) lately.

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Katherine’s a contributing syndications editor at Marie Claire who covers fashion, culture, and lifestyle. In her role, she writes stories that are syndicated by MSN and other outlets. She’s been a full-time freelancer for over a decade and has had roles with Cosmopolitan (where she covered lifestyle, culture, and fashion SEO content) and Bustle (where she was their movies and culture writer). She has bylines in New York Times, Parents, InStyle, Refinery29, and elsewhere. Her work has also been syndicated by ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, Seventeen, Good Housekeeping, and Women’s Health, among others. In addition to her stories reaching millions of readers, content she's written and edited has qualified for a Bell Ringer Award and received a Communicator Award.

Katherine has a BA in English and art history from the University of Notre Dame and an MA in art business from the Sotheby's Institute of Art (with a focus on marketing/communications). She covers a wide breadth of topics: she's written about how to find the very best petite jeans, how sustainable travel has found its footing on Instagram, and what it's like to be a professional advice-giver in the modern world. Her personal essays have run the gamut from learning to dress as a queer woman to navigating food allergies as a mom. She also has deep knowledge of SEO/EATT, affiliate revenue, commerce, and social media; she regularly edits the work of other writers. She speaks at writing-related events and podcasts about freelancing and journalism, mentors students and other new writers, and consults on coursework. Currently, Katherine lives in Boston with her husband and two kids, and you can follow her on Instagram. If you're wondering about her last name, it’s “I go to dinner,” not “Her huge ego,” but she responds to both.