Met Gala 2026 Red Carpet | Venus Williams’ Swarovski Dress Celebrates Her Journey

Tennis legend Venus Williams dazzled the red carpet at the 2026 Met Gala in a sparkly dress that acknowledged her legacy in the sport. Threading allusions to her family, roots, her celebrated trajectory as a star athlete, Williams' look melded the artistic and the emotional. Williams’ outfit was designed by Giovanna Engelbert, Swarovski’s first global creative director. The black mesh crystal dress featured a form-fitting silhouette, with the plated silver and diamond statement necklace serving as a key fixture for the overall look. The ensemble was inspired by Robert Pruitt’s “Venus Williams” Double Portrait from 2022, a portrait of the tennis champion that was commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery. Williams’s look for the 2026 Met Gala was curated by stylist Ronald Burton III. She was accompanied by her partner, Andrea Preti.

“There’s a lot of symbolism. My mom is here my dad is here; there’s symbolism from my culture [in] West Africa,” Williams broke down her necklace’s significance and symbolism, adding there was also a reference to the Watts Towers in California where she grew up. It also incorporates nods to her fight for equal pay in tennis. “It reflects not just my journey, but the legacy of those who came before me—especially pioneers like Althea Gibson and Arthur Ashe, who paved the way. It felt like a personal way to connect with ‘Costume Art’—using fashion to tell a story about legacy and progress, and honoring those who made it possible,” she told Vogue.

Williams served as a cochair of the 2026 Met Gala alongside Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Nicole Kidman, and Anna Wintour — her first time in a cochair role at the event. She is the third former WTA World No. 1 to cochair the gala in recent years, following her sister Serena Williams, who co-haired in 2019, and Naomi Osaka, who cochaired in 2021. Having made her Met Gala debut in 2008 in a bronze Carolina Herrera gown, Williams has become a recurring red carpet presence at the event in recent years. The theme for the Met Gala 2026 is “Costume Art,” with the dress code described as “fashion is art.” This year’s theme is named after the museum’s new exhibition, which will see 400 outfits and objects spanning 5,000 years go on display.