Zendaya is revisiting her life in looks and taking a moment to defend one of her most controversial ensembles ever as well as reveal why she almost didn't wear her viral Mugler armor suit.
The Challengers star is the latest celebrity to take a sartorial trip back in time with Vogue's "Life in Looks" series, and one meme-able outfit gets its moment in the spotlight — among many, many, many other standouts.
The controversial look in question is a black Armani suit she wore in 2014 to a Teen Vogue Young Hollywood party and paired with an enormous black hat. "I still see memes about this particular look," she says, adding that she finds it very chic today. "I would wear it again. Might have to bring it out of the archives one day." According to Zendaya, her stylist, Law Roach, still has the hat in storage, so you never know! We may just see it pop up on a red carpet a decade later.
Coincidentally, Z's Life in Looks segment begins in 2011 with another Teen Vogue Young Hollywood party, where she wore a sweet blue dress styled by Roach. "I'm like, 15 years old? I think I did all right," she says in hindsight. (We agree.)
Other standouts include her first Met Gala in 2015 (and accompanying nerves!), her first Vogue cover at age 20, and the wet-look Balmain gown she wore to promote Dune part one, which she said reminded her a bit of the infamous Dune stillsuit.
As for that instantly viral and iconic silver archival Mugler suit, which she wore to a Dune: Part Two premiere, Z actually sent it to Roach for a potential premiere look. "He was like, 'Are you being serious? Don't play with me! Don't get me started on something and make me do this, and you're going to chicken out at the last minute.'" But she was up for the challenge!
According to Zendaya, one of the men who made the original outfit was there for the fitting, and though he warned that it might not fit, given it was custom-made with specific hinges, it ended up fitting her perfectly. However, she almost ditched it at the last minute. "Immediately after wearing it for like 10 minutes, I got really lightheaded. The metal conducts and holds onto heat."
Z added that she was wearing a bodysuit underneath, so it was already pretty warm in there. Despite the discomfort, she made it work — and created one of her most iconic looks ever. “As the days were coming up, I was like, 'This is a bad idea. But I put it on, I went out there, and I did it!”
Watch the full video below:
