Venus Williams Finds the Sweet Spot Between Runway and Reality

The National Geographic Society and De Beers Group hosted an evening celebrating the renewal of the Okavango Eternal partnership for an additional five years, reaffirming their commitment to the long-term protection of the Okavango River Basin and conservation-related livelihood opportunities for the people who live there and help steward it.

Former tennis star Venus Williams was in attendance wearing a Marc Jacobs Spring 2024 off-the-shoulder black dress.

Considering all we know about Marc Jacobs’ love of exaggerated silhouettes, it’s almost hard to believe this dress came from the same collection. But we also know that what we see on the runway isn’t always what ultimately goes into production. There is the show look and there is the commercial version, and with considerably less exaggeration through the hips, Venus is clearly wearing the latter.

I don’t think anything is lost in translation. The jewelled embellishment at the hip still gives the dress its defining detail, and it was beautifully complemented by Venus’ De Beers jewellery.

Considering Venus’ style and the formality of the occasion, I think this was exactly the right look for her. The runway proportions would have turned the silhouette into the entire story, whereas this version allows the Marc Jacobs design and the De Beers jewels to share the focus.

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