Zendaya’s ability to sartorially emulate a fragment of the project she’s currently working on is unparalleled. The 27-year-old unequivocally frames herself as an extension of her latest film or television show. In turn, delivering a taste of the picture’s universe wherever she goes—be it on the red carpet for a premiere or the steps of Paris’ Petit Palais for Haute Couture Week.
The latter was realised during Schiaparelli’s Spring/Summer 2024 collection presentation, with the actress cementing her burgeoning relationship with the French Maison by making her front-row debut. Underneath the alcove of the Beaux-Arts style arched ceilings, Zendaya proved to be the ultimate muse for Daniel Roseberry’s latest panoply.
Titled “SCHIAPARALIEN”, the collection conjured a dialogue between the luxuriate’s rich legacy and equally formidable future. Using tropes of anatomy, technology, astrology and extraterrestrial references, Roseberry evoked creations not confined to the Earth’s atmosphere.
Who better to elucidate this thesis and guide us through this futuristic empyrean than Zendaya? Or more aptly, her Dune character Chani.
With her newfangled baby bangs, black turtleneck lined with bantu-style knots and draped satin maxi skirt tied back into a ponytail train, the style savant echoed the interplanetary doctrine explored in Denis Villeneuve’s adaption of the science-fiction epic and Roseberry’s collection.
Though Zendaya’s on-screen Freman wardrobe typically consists of sand hues and desert shades, the star has leant into the mystical and forebode silhouettes of the Bene Gesserits—a mythical order that promises to have a bigger role in the upcoming sequel.
Having already channelled Dune’s antagonistic sandworm in Schiaparelli’s Lobster skirt and the planet Arrakis itself in custom Balmain and new season Rick Owens, Zendaya has continued to bridge the codes of her own body of work with that of a designer.
A once-in-a-generation ability to wear custom looks that fuse multiple conceptual fantasies, indeed. Perhaps she is from outer space, after all.
This story first appeared on GRAZIA International.