In “Challengers,” Zendaya plays a tennis star named Tashi Duncan. Her clothes are central to her identity; the character is sponsored by Adidas and wearing sporty and lavish outfits by designer Jonathan Anderson.
“She will have a fashion line,” one among Tashi’s suitors predicts to one other trailer. “He’s going to turn his entire family into millionaires.”
Fashion is equally necessary to the real Zendaya – it’s a tool for each creating a picture and earning profits. She became the defining star of up to date cinema’s press tour. Covering such appearances will be hectic, with 1000’s of articles and social media posts published about each stop: a premiere in New York, a photograph shoot in Mexico City, a press conference in Seoul.
The fever increases when the actors dress up in themed costumes. The “Barbie” actors were drowning in pink outfits straight from toy boxes. The stars of “Madame Web” wrapped themselves in shiny mesh dresses. Kristen Stewart wore little or no to promote her erotic thriller Love Lies Bleeding.
But few can attract as much attention as Zendaya, who in February, for instance, wore a vintage Mugler robot costume to the London premiere of “Dune: Part Two.” (Her obvious subject of this press tour: a futuristic desert warrior queen.) Since then, data analytics firm Launchmetrics has estimated Mugler’s media influence at $13.3 million. according to Women’s Wear Daily.
Zendaya’s ‘Dune: Part Two’ Red Carpet Looks
However, despite her involvement in cosplay, Zendaya didn’t wear Adidas in the run-up to “Challengers,” the Luca Guadagnino film that will likely be released in late March. She’s wearing a preppy look created by her real-life sponsor, Louis Vuitton, a luxury brand increasingly embroiled in the world of sports.
For promotional image released On March 12, Zendaya wore a buttery sweater with a deep V-neck, baggy white shorts, and white pumps — like the scariest stepmother in a rustic club, right down to her long, blown-up bob. Her stylist, image architect Law Roach, assigned Louis Vuitton and Bulgari for the outfit.
Zendaya then attended the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California on March 17 to watch the women’s finals. Louis Vuitton dressed her again in tennis white: sweater, tank top and pleated skirt. She styled it with white sneakers, a small monogrammed handbag – the neon yellow purse attached to it looked like a tennis ball – and her boyfriend, actor Tom Holland. They we sang together to Whitney Houston of their seats.
Zendaya, who trained for “Challengers” with famous trainer Brad Gilbert, later posed for photos with Iga Świątek, match winner and the highest-ranked female athlete in the sport.
She looked calmer in her “tennis score” on Sunday, breaking away from the severity of the “Dune” chapter. It wasn’t just her cyborg appearance that made her seem otherworldly. (Mugler’s fembot costume was followed by a set of vintage circuit board skirts from Givery.) Crisp white gowns by Alaïa (in Paris) and Stéphane Rolland (in New York) also added to the gravitas of a sci-fi empress at a state dinner.
Now he’s coming back to earth. Or a minimum of a tennis court. As Ms. Świątek noted after her win, “Meeting Zendaya was crazy, but then again, she’s human like all of us.”
