Laced in white

Venus and Diane von Furstenberg brought corset lacing to Wimbledon whites.

Athlete: Venus Williams
Tournament: Wimbledon
Date: June–July 2003
Design: Venus Williams × Diane von Furstenberg for Reebok
Tournament finish: FSingles

The original look

Venus Williams playing in the Reebok dress at Wimbledon in 2003.

Getty Images / WTA · Copyrighted Getty editorial photograph hosted by WTA. No open reuse license verified; original downloaded without altering/cropping.

View original photograph & source ↗

The story behind the look

Venus Williams’s 2003 Wimbledon dress came from a collaboration with Diane von Furstenberg and Reebok. Its defining detail appeared when she turned: an open back threaded with white lacing. The International Tennis Hall of Fame places the design in a longer fashion history, connecting its corset reference with the restrictive clothing worn by tennis players more than a century earlier.

Here that historical reference became part of a contemporary match dress. The close-fitting white silhouette kept to Wimbledon’s visual tradition, while the exposed, laced back made the construction unmistakable. The archive’s rear reconstruction follows a tournament photograph so that this central design feature remains visible from both sides of the garment.