Serena Williams: From Tennis Champion to Fashion Mogul

Widely regarded as the greatest tennis player ever to grace the sport, Serena Williams isn't done yet. She successfully paved the way for a sport previously dominated by white men, and now she's at it again with fashion.

She has her fashion line, S by Serena, as well as a collection with Nike — here is everything you need to know about Serena’s growing fashion empire.

When Serena wasn’t dominating on the tennis court, she was busy earning her fashion degree at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. She then went on to take those skills and start S By Serena, which is a modern fashion brand for the “sexy, sophisticated, strong, and stylish” woman.

“We just don't want to limit anyone," Serena told Fast Company of her S by Serena design philosophy. "Everyone has an opportunity to look good no matter who you are, where you're from, what you look like, or what your body is."

S by Serena offers everything from dresses to bodysuits to hoodies.

Serena also brings her design background to her athleisure collection at Nike. In 2019, Serena founded a design apprenticeship program—the Serena Williams Design Crew — at Nike, which hired young designers of color to help design pieces for her collection.

So, along with creating quality fashion, Serena is also creating opportunities for her community.

“This program responds to the opportunity to increase diversity across the design industry,” she explained to Fast Company. “Can you imagine what it means for a young designer to work within Nike’s world-renowned design organization? For me as a designer, it would be legit the best place to work.”

Her collection was inspired by ’90s looks and featured colorful jumpsuits and asymmetrical body suits, among other elevated basics.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Open in 2018, Serena collaborated with late Off-White designer Virgil Abloh for the Nike Queen Collection.

“With Serena, we have one of our generation's most powerful, inspiring athletes as the muse," Virgil said at the time. "I was trying to embody her spirit and bring something compelling and fresh to tennis.”

The collaboration resulted in a tulled design, inspired by Serena’s love of dance and ballet.

“So the dress is feminine but combines her aggression. It's partially revealing. It's asymmetrical. It has a sort of ballerina-esque silhouette to symbolize her grace,” Virgil added. “It's not about bells and whistles and tricks. It's just about it living on the body, and expressing Serena’s spirit with each swing of the racket."

When Serena is not designing her brand or working with Nike on another collection, Serena can be found front row at many fashion shows right next to Anna Wintour.

For Serena, fashion is her passion, so it was no surprise when she received the Fashion Icon Award at the 2023 CFDA Awards.

“Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve used fashion as an outlet to express myself — fashion gave me the confidence to step on the court and own who I was, and where I knew I was going,” Serena said before accepting her award.

We can’t wait to see what she designs next!