How Zendaya Turned the Red Carpet Into Storytelling By Veridiana Gordilho

With the release of her new movie, The Drama, Zendaya becomes the center of attention for her red-carpet looks. Through her looks, she recreated the wedding tradition of “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue,” and what might have felt accidental was actually her way of getting people's attention. When referencing a wedding tradition while promoting a film about the theme, she transforms a simple outfit into both commentary and self-expression. She is giving us the movie even before it is released. Through this technique, she gets people more excited for her work and makes the blockbuster skyrocket.

For Zendaya, fashion is not only about looking good but also about telling a story. Because of that, the actress ended up turning method dressing, a fashion strategy where actors continue to dress in character-inspired outfits during public appearances, into her own signature. Long before it became a big trend among celebrities, she was already approaching press tours as extensions of the films themselves. During Dune, she would appear in metallic, futuristic, desert-vibe outfits that mirrored the film's otherworldly tone. With Challengers, she focused on wearing clothes that reflect tennis, such as heels with tennis balls, tennis-inspired silhouettes, and sharp lines. And even in earlier projects such as Spider-Man, her clothing carried subtle yet noticeable traces of the character's world, including dresses resembling Dr. Octopus's metal spine or spider webs.

Part of Zendaya's perfect execution stems from her long-standing collaboration with Law Roach, a stylist who has worked with her since early in her career and helped her establish herself as one of the most recognizable fashion figures of her generation. Roach is behind many of Zendaya's iconic red carpet and press tour looks, but consistency is what defines and strengthens their partnership. Having grown up together, they were able to work with and adapt Zendaya's style and understand each other's vision to find what works best. Even after Roach’s brief retirement announcement, his influence remains embedded in the way Zendaya approaches fashion.

Although Zendaya focuses on translating a movie's mood into her fashion choices, other artists focus on recreating exact references. One example is how Margot Robbie, during her Barbie press tour, used the red carpet to recreate the doll's most iconic looks. While Margot used exact references, making her fashion museum-worthy, Zendaya uses her style as an extension of the cinematic world she's set in the movie. Because her approach to dressing is more about interpretation than replication, she is able to adapt to every genre and universe.

By incorporating an element of her film, such as a wedding tradition, into her red-carpet look, Zendaya blurs the line between fiction and reality.  For her, the characters she brings to life don't die when filming wraps, and the film doesn't end when the credits roll. Instead, it continues through fabric, through style, and through image. By doing so, she not only promotes her own movie but also owns the narrative that feels entirely her own.

By Veridiana Gordilho