Balance has been restored to the universe. That is to say, Zendaya is back where she belongs: sartorially referencing her theatrical projects through expertly curated, couture-level ensembles.
Trust the 27-year-old, and her ‘image architect’ Law Roach, to waste no time following the conclusion of the SAG-AFTRA strike to deliver a masterful display off-screen style. All the while paying homage to (and most importantly, promoting), the source material at hand.
Embracing the rugged, albeit barren, sandscape of Dune, Zendaya looked to new season Schiaparelli for her look at Brazil’s CCXP comic convention. The actress attended the event in São Paulo with co-stars Timothée Chalamet, Florence Pugh and Austin Butler to promote the upcoming science-fiction epic, Dune: Part 2.
With the sequel promising more screen time for her character, a mysterious ‘Fremen’ and concubine named Chani, the actress used the platform to prove her prowess for commanding our attention, with or without a script.
Zendaya did so in a bone-white monochromatic set from Daniel Roseberry’s Spring/Summer 2024 collection for the French Maison. (Editor’s Note: Unlike North West, we find no fault in Roseberry’s design).
The elevated ensemble riffs on classic wardrobe tropes, with an ecru silk tuxedo shirt tucked into a deliciously draped jersey maxi skirt.
The collection notes mention the inspiration for the wearable panoply as Elsa Schiappareli’s vivid fascination with rendering the familiar with a surreal, almost “prehistoric” lens. Given much of Dune, is set in a cataclysmic distant future, the collection proved a suburb choice for Zendaya’s first foray into press tour dressing since the strike.
But why this look, exactly? Roach himself took to social media to answer that question for us. As he explained on his Instagram story, the 3D lobster sculpted onto the garment was a homage to the sandworms proliferating under the dunes of Arrakis.
In one outfit, Zendaya has managed to pay tribute to fictional beasts, desert planets and the Hollywood machine through her inimitable fashion ability. She indeed has the spice.
