Last week Zendaya was awarded the coveted and prestigious CFDA Fashion Icon Award. The Council of Fashion Designers of America presents the highest regarded awards in the fashion community. This year the chairman was Tom Ford, and the awards were hosted by Emily Blunt. Zendaya’s win makes her the youngest person ever to accept this award and puts her in the company of past winners such as Jennifer Lopez, Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Rihanna, Pharrell Williams and many others. This win was just as much hers as much it was her longtime stylist Law Roach’s. Law and Zendaya have worked together since she was 16 and have created looks that are truly iconic. The looks have always been age-appropriate, groundbreaking, unique and powerful. Here is a look back at some of my favorite styles from their collaboration.
Balmain for Dune
When I first saw Zendaya’s dress, I was astonished to see the craftsmanship and the attention to detail and technique in the dress. She wore a custom Balmain “wet look” leather dress. The entire dress is leather and is constructed in a way to look like she just came out of the water. Her wet hair and makeup went beautifully with the look, and it was finished off with a showstopping Bulgari necklace.
Tom Ford for the Critics Choice Awards
The pink breastplate started a whole new trend with so many copycats using it even today. This look was effortlessly chic and had a slight hint of sexiness but still remained extremely classy. The simple maxi skirt and long hair let the top do all the talking. The full monochrome hot pink moment was trendy and stylish at the same time.
Vera Wang for the Emmy’s
She pulled her inspiration for this look from the Gren Ivy superhero, and in true Zendaya fashion, made the look extremely classy. This Vera Wang dress also launched a whole new trend of mixing boning with silk, but what I loved most was the contrast between the red hair and green dress.
Tommy Hilfiger for the 2019 Met Ball
The theme of this Met Gala was Camp and she dressed as a modern-day Cinderella, complete with a transforming dress. She made her interpretation personal and didn’t allow it to overwhelm her, as many other celebrities’ outfits did. This was my least favorite of her Met looks, but it was still spectacular.
Versace for the 2018 Met Ball
This look for the 2018 Met Ball is one of my favorites Met looks from her and I think she executed the theme marvelously. The theme for the 2018 Met Ball was “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination,” and she went as Joan of Arc. The craftsmanship of this dress as wearable armor was just exquisite and the pairing of the look with the short red hair created a look that will go down in the history books.
Ralph and Russo for ‘Spiderman: Homecoming’
This is truly the most iconic hot pink dress. When I first saw this look, I forgot about “Spiderman” and just saw her. She stole the whole show and looked like a breath of fresh air. It was a completely new take on Barbie pink, and the dress was tailored to perfection. Ralph and Russo have been longtime favorite designers of mine, so this collaboration was everything to me.
