Zendaya has had a trump card up her sleeve during the Challengers press tour.
The actress has been traveling the world to promote the film, in cinemas on April 26, and once again her style is taking center stage. Led by veteran stylist Law Roach, Zendaya serves up tennis core at its best, right down to the woven wool felt balls on her shoes. Think of lots of white tones, a touch of yellow-green tones and shimmering silver tones.
Of course it’s to the point. The Dune: part two And Euphoria Star plays a former tennis prodigy turned coach in a love triangle with two tennis pros, played by Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist. The film is directed by Luca Guadagnino.
Photo call in Milan
Zendaya wore a white halter minidress and white heels on April 14. The dress was originally modeled by Cindy Crawford during the Ralph Lauren show during New York Fashion Week in 1991. The model applauded the actress’ vintage look on social media.
Zendaya let her hair down for the event and went light on jewelry. (All jewelry for the press tour is from Bulgari, for which she is a brand ambassador.)
Milan TV appearance
While she appeared on the talk show Che Tempo Che Fa on April 14, Zendaya wore a box-cut white dress with a balloon skirt. The dress appeared to be terry cloth, a favorite fabric for tennis, and she paired it with white heels.
Monaco tennis match
On April 13, Zendaya wore two different outfits at the Monte-Carlo Masters tennis tournament, looking right at home in both sets of white. The first was a re-creation of an outfit worn by Althea Gibson – the first black tennis player to win a Grand Slam – made by Swiss sportswear brand On.
Zendaya wore the sleeveless white polo and pleated skirt with white sneakers. She made an outfit switcheroo at the event, also wearing a white sweater and a cream skirt.
Photo interview in London
Zendaya wore the vintage 1994 Vivienne Westwood Gold Label on April 11. The red and blue striped vest was mostly unbuttoned and the suit skirt had a bustle of white feathers. Her hair was styled in a ponytail with face-framing bangs. White stilettos once again served as her heels of choice.
Premiere in London
Zendaya would turn heads at the tennis club in this custom white halter dress by Thom Browne. The dress featured embroidered tennis rackets, while the skirt had mesh in the folds. She had a bow in her hair and a very Anna Kournikova braid down her back. Diamond earrings and a tennis bracelet added extra sparkle.
Rome premiere
Zendaya wore all-white everything, centered around a custom Calvin Klein skirt suit — which touched the floor and featured a high leg slit — for the April 8 event. Underneath the blazer was nothing but a diamond snake necklace. She also wore diamond earrings, rings and a snake ring. On her feet? Louboutins.
Photo call in Rome
Zendaya served up a dress modeled on what a professional might wear – with pleats at the bottom – but it was shiny silver with a plunging V-neck. Completing the custom Loewe outfit was a true pièce de résistance: white pumps with tennis balls pierced through the heels.
Premiere in Paris
On April 6, Zendaya floated onto the red carpet in custom Louis Vuitton — a white strapless fitted bodice with a flowing chiffon skirt. The look was completed with a leather belt and, yes, more diamonds.
Photo interview Paris
For a photo call on April 6, Zendaya arrived in tennis ball green (or is it yellow?): a shirt – which was mostly unbuttoned – and Louis Vuitton trousers from Marc Jacobs’ spring 1999 collection. She had a clutch bag in the same, carrying a hard-to-pull-off shade, along with strappy silver platform stilettos.
Photo interview Paris
The fashion trifecta in the City of Light concluded with another Louis Vuitton by Marc Jacobs look from 2013. It’s a green and white checked coat that reaches the thigh – with white pumps. Zendaya also wore a white headband with a bow.
Sydney premiere
Zendaya tipped us off to her style plan, which saw her wearing another custom Loewe dress on March 26 as the press tour kicked off Down Under. It was a playful sparkling green, with a generous leg slit, with a tennis racket and ball design. The shoes were the same color and the diamond earrings were three-layered.
Fashion inspiration
In the May issue of Vogue, Zendaya said she’s taking a page from Beyoncé when it comes to being a fashionista on the red carpet and during photo shoots, creating her own style-destroying alter ego.
“She’s another being that comes into me: my own Sasha Fierce,” she said. “She takes over and she does the carpet.” It’s something she mentally commits to, saying, ‘I have to buy her. I have to believe that this woman exists, or that this fantasy exists.”
Roach — who has long taken Zendaya’s fashion game to the next level — told the outlet after Zendaya turned heel Dune: part two tour that, similar to character acting, “We adopted method dressing. The looks served as an extension of the wardrobe from the film; it was intentional and purposeful.”
While there’s no shortage of reactions to everything Zendaya serves up on the carpet, we never operate based on what we think someone’s reaction will be, Roach said. “I always try to be a storyteller more than anything.”
