Kaia Gerber attended "Roger Federer: An Icon Returns to New York," the US Open's Tuesday-night tribute marking the tennis legend's farewell to Arthur Ashe Stadium, in a black dress that once again drew comparisons to her mother Cindy Crawford's '90s red-carpet vocabulary.
The dress, from Ukrainian-born, New York-based designer Yana Matkivski, is called the Donna. Its construction draws on vintage swimwear shaping: a bodysuit base fused with an integrated pencil skirt, producing a close, sculptural silhouette rather than a traditional draped gown. The result sits closer to structured tailoring than typical event-wear softness, giving the piece a graphic, body-conscious line without relying on cutouts or sheer paneling — a departure from several of Gerber's more overtly revealing looks in recent weeks.
Kaia Gerber in New York City. pic.twitter.com/3rLR4rAy0P
— 21 (@21metgala) August 26, 2026
She paired the dress with Le Silla Bella mules and a pair of Khaite x Oliver Peoples 1969C sunglasses, keeping the palette monochrome from head to toe. The standout accessory was a Fendi Baguette 26424 Re-Edition bag, part of the label's ongoing reissue of Silvia Venturini Fendi's original 1997 design under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri — a detail that adds a specific fashion-history reference point to the look, since the Baguette remains one of the most cited "it bag" originators of the late '90s accessory boom.
The Crawford comparison isn't incidental context; it's become a recurring thread in how Gerber's black-dress appearances are read this year, following earlier looks this summer — including a satin shift dress in New York in July styled close to a Crawford look from 1991, and a slip dress referencing an outfit Crawford wore to a 1992 film premiere. The Federer event look continues that same visual lineage: fitted, minimal, monochrome, with the styling doing the work rather than embellishment.
Kaia Gerber had me seeing double at the US Open. The Cindy Crawford resemblance was impossible to miss in this fitted black dresshttps://t.co/ECTghTuV8w pic.twitter.com/5hshnhLPSz
— Red Carpet Fashion Awards (@Fashion_Critic_) August 26, 2026
The occasion itself gives the look a clear news hook beyond the outfit alone. Federer's Arthur Ashe farewell tribute drew a broader mix of tennis and entertainment figures marking the close of his on-court legacy at the tournament, placing Gerber's appearance within a dateable, photographed event rather than an off-duty street moment — the kind of context that gives a fashion story staying power beyond a single news cycle.
Kaia Gerber and her 'The Shards' co-stars Homer Gere and Owen Painter attend a fan week exhibition match at the 2026 US Open 🎾 pic.twitter.com/706a82usXt
— Splash News (@SplashNews) August 26, 2026
Gerber's appearance also arrives during an active press period for her; she has been promoting the FX series "The Shards" in recent weeks, and several of her most-discussed looks this month have coincided with related media appearances. That's useful background for why she's been photographed with unusual frequency this cycle, though the Federer event itself was a standalone红-carpet moment, not a press-tour stop.
