Serena Williams's 2024 Met Gala Gown Makes Her a Gilded Goddess

Serena Williams in a gold foil dress at the 2024 met gala

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 6 May 2024

Tennis pro, newly-minted beauty brand founder, and all-around powerhouse Serena Williams returned to the Met Gala carpet in New York City in a Balenciaga gown deserving of the word so often used to describe her: iconic. And while last year’s appearance was hard to top (she announced she was pregnant, if you forgot), her look for 2024’s Met Gala did the trick.

The theme of this year's gala is "The Garden of Time" in celebration of the Met's exhibit titled "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion." Fittingly, the mother of two wore a gilded golden one-shoulder gown, making her a standout among every look on the Met Gala carpet.

A custom gold floral headpiece from New York-based designer Jennifer Behr, cuffed bracelets, a selection of gold rings, and a pair of black opera-length gloves perfectly finished off her look. Williams worked with longtime stylist Kesha McLeod to create the show-stopping ensemble.

Serena Williams — The tennis icon was photographed prior to hitting the carpet at the Met in her gold foil gown.

As for her beauty look, she opted for a shimmering gold eye look, bronzed skin, and possibly the most perfect matte nude lip I have seen in a while. Her blonde hair was elegantly slicked back as it flowed down her back. The makeup came courtesy of her new makeup line, Wyn Beauty.

The winner of 23 Grand Slam titles is a Gala veteran. She first attended 20 years ago, in 2004, and even cohosted the annual fundraiser in 2019 alongside Harry Styles, Lady Gaga, and then-Gucci Creative Director Alessandro Michele. She donned a bright yellow Atelier Versace gown and matching yellow sneakers for the occasion, perfectly capturing the evening's over-the-top theme.

Her penchant for show-stopping Met Gala looks continued when she returned to the fundraiser in 2021. Williams wore a silver Gucci bodysuit, complete with a flowing feathered pink cape.

Williams' tennis fashion is having a moment right now, thanks to 2024 cohost Zendaya and her looks on the Challengers press tour. The actress and her longtime stylist, Law Roach, even paid homage to Williams and her sister, Venus, in a touching Instagram post while promoting the movie. In the post, Zendaya posed in a custom Carolina Herrera gown that emulated similar ones worn by the sisters in a now-iconic 1998 shoot for Vogue.

Topics

Met Gala

Julia Marzovilla is the Fashion E-Commerce Editor at Marie Claire, where she reviews the latest launches from fashion and beauty brands, finds the best on-sale items around the internet, and interviews experts to find the best products in any category to share with her readers. She also creates shopping guides that span every vertical on the site as an expert in everything from the best laptop bags to the best laser hair removal devices.

In her near decade of experience, Julia has both written for several top outlets in the E-Commerce space and worked at major fashion labels. Prior to joining the Marie Claire team, she contributed similar shopping stories to sites such as Bustle, InStyle, The Zoe Report, Who What Wear, and worked as the Trending Fashion and News Writer STYLECASTER. You can find her across the internet at @JuliaMarzovilla. In real life, you can find her creating shopping guides for her friends, cooking or baking in her too-small kitchen, or buying tickets for the next time Harry Styles is in town.

Julia has a Bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in Journalism from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California. She lives in New York City, her hometown.

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