On the first Monday of May, as we watch the 2022 Met Gala red carpet, we’ll be nursing a Zendaya-shaped hole in our hearts. As the countdown to fashion’s big night begins, Zendaya revealed to fans she won’t be among the star-studded attendees making their way up the grand staircase at the Metropolitan of Art Museum this year.
The actress told Extra in a recent interview, “I hate to disappoint my fans here, but I will be working. Your girl’s gotta work and make some movies,” said the Emmy-winner. “I wish everyone the best.”
This marks the second Met Gala in a row where fans won’t get a dose of Zendaya on the carpet. While 2020’s Met Gala was canceled due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Zendaya missed the ball last year citing scheduling conflicts while filming Euphoria’s second season.
Celebrating the second chapter of last year’s In America: A Lexicon of Fashion, comes 2022’s In America: An Anthology of Fashion, with the theme, “Gilded Glamour.”
While we know full well that Zendaya and her right-hand man, stylist Law Roach would have crushed the theme with yet another groundbreaking Met Gala fashion moment, we’re holding onto the fact that Zendaya said she’ll “be back eventually.”
Here, GRAZIA USA has rounded up Zendaya’s most fashion-forward and innovative looks to take the Met Gala.
2019
An ironic style statement for the former-Disney child star, Zendaya appeared on the pink carpet at the 2019 Met Gala as Cinderella alongside her Fairy Godparent — stylist Law Roach. Donning a Tommy Hilfiger ballgown that (literally) lit up the room for the Camp: Notes on Fashion exhibit, Zendaya’s Judith Lieber pumpkin stagecoach clutch added the perfect finishing touch.
2018
Appearing as a modern day Joan of Arc, Zendaya attended the Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and The Catholic Imagination Costume Institute Gala in 2018 donning a Versace armor and chainmail ensemble with a blunt copper-colored bob.
2017
The star attended the Rei Kawakubo/ Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between 2017 Met Gala wearing an opulent Dolce & Gabbana Alta Moda off-the-shoulder ballgown printed with parrots and florals.
2016
Sleek and sophisticated, Zendaya’s black bowl cut and bronze asymmetrical simmering Michael Kors gown was the perfect fit for the 2016 Met Ball theme, Manus x Machina: Fashion In An Age of Technology.
2015
Attending the Met Gala for the very first time in 2015, Zendaya sported a high-low confection by designer Fausto Puglisi with a coordinating crown headpiece for the Costume Institute’s China: Through the Looking Glass exhibition.
