Created for the theme “Costume Art,” the glittering look drew directly from Pruitt’s portrait, which was commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery for the Smithsonian Institution’s 2022 Portrait of a Nation Gala.
The artwork features an older Venus face-to-face with a younger version of herself. In the portrait, the older Venus wears the Wimbledon trophy as a necklace, while the younger Venus stands in a black dress surrounded by strands of her signature white beads.
According to Swarovski Global Creative Director Giovanna Engelbert, more than 4,000 Swarovski zirconia and crystals were used to bring the piece to life for the Met Gala.
“For Venus Williams, the starting point was her portrait by Robert Pruitt in which she wears a necklace carrying deep personal meaning a tribute to her family, her roots in Compton, and the people and places that shaped her,” Engelbert shared on social media.
“Together, we chose to recreate that necklace as faithfully as possible, translating its symbolism into Swarovski crystal while protecting the spirit and intent of the original piece.”
