Serena Williams Wears Red LaQuan Smith Gown at Wintour Dinner
serena williams turned Anna Wintour’s private pre-Met Gala dinner into a clear preview of the 2026 fashion mood on Sunday in Greenwich Village. The 44-year-old arrived in a custom LaQuan Smith red sequined gown with a daring slit, black pointed-toe Christian Louboutin heels, and a Roger Vivier clutch.
Greenwich Village Sunday guest list
Williams has co-chaired the Met Gala in the past, but this appearance put her inside a different circle: Anna Wintour’s home gathering ahead of Monday’s gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Venus Williams and Andrea Preti also attended, dressed in coordinating black-and-orange Pucci looks, while Nicole Kidman, Sabrina Carpenter, Zoë Kravitz, Jeff Bezos, and Lauren Sánchez were in the room as well.
The guest list says as much about the event as the dress. Wintour drew figures tied to fashion, entertainment, and business to a private dinner before the Met Gala’s 2026 run, and Serena’s look fit the assignment without playing safe.
Costume Art and Fashion Is Art
The 2026 Met Gala theme is Costume Art, and the dress code is Fashion Is Art. That framing makes a custom, high-slit sequined gown the kind of look that belongs in the pregame conversation, especially with the dinner taking place at Wintour’s residence rather than a public carpet.
Williams’ styling kept the focus tight: platinum blond waves worn down the middle and minimal but glamorous makeup, with the gown doing the heavy lifting. For a 44-year-old who has co-chaired the Met Gala before, the choice read less like a nostalgia play and more like a reminder that she still understands how to turn a fashion event into a headline without saying a word.
Monday at the Met
The real test comes Monday, when the 2026 Met Gala moves into the Costume Institute’s new permanent galleries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Serena’s dinner appearance sets the tone early, and the most useful takeaway for readers is simple: the night’s hierarchy already runs through Wintour, the Williams sisters, and the hosts who can still pull fashion, entertainment, and money into one room.
