- Serena Williams is the cover star of the August 2019 issue of Harper’s Bazaar.
- Swathed in gold throughout the shoot, Williams remains entirely unairbrushed in the images, taken by photographer Alexi Lubomirski.
- The tennis star has been widely praised for forgoing retouching and championing natural beauty and strength.
- Visit INSIDER’s homepage for more stories.
Serena Williams has once again proven herself to be a champion both on and off the tennis court – only this time, she’s making her voice heard as a champion of natural strength and beauty.
The 23-time Grand Slam winner is the star of the August 2019 issue of Harper’s BAZAAR, and both the cover shot and the images inside the magazine are entirely unretouched.
“To celebrate the strength and beauty of women in their most authentic states, Harper’s Bazaar produced all of the stories in their feature well without any airbrushing at all,” a spokesperson for the magazine told INSIDER.
The striking photos - which accompany a powerful essay written by Williams - were taken by photographer Alexi Lubomirski.
Swathed in glimmering gold in every shot, Williams looks every inch a queen.
In the cover shot, the 37-year-old wears a Stella McCartney gown and Tiffany & Co. earrings and necklace.
Meanwhile, Williams wore a Ralph Lauren cape and Christian Louboutin sandals for the shot above.
She posted another shot on her Instagram (curiously while she was playing a match at Wimbledon) in which she's seen in a Tom Ford dress.
http://instagr.am/p/Bzsm-PZnTQx
Both Williams and the magazine have been widely praised for not airbrushing the photos.
"Brilliant. Brave. Bold. You are an inspiration," writer Elaine Welteroth commented on Instagram.
"Always an inspiration. Not only for athletes, for all women. THANK YOU," added actor Cecilia Suárez.
"AND UNRETOUCHED PHOTOS. Thank you, sis! You make SUCH a difference in the world in ways we cannot even respect yet!" wrote another fan.
"Unretouched FTW!!! Thank you! Can't wait to show these to my daughter," said activist Sally Kohn.