Zendaya earned her status as a fashion icon with her appearance at the annual Met Gala. Every one of her outfits reflected her ability to embody and reinvent the event's theme, always leaving an unforgettable impression on the fashion world. Let's look at her most memorable appearances and the themes they were linked with.
Zendaya made her stunning debut at the 2015 Met Gala, wearing a custom Fausto Puglisi gown featuring vivid sun designs. She wore a matching headpiece with gold details, completing the look. The gown’s color scheme, red and black, paid homage to the year’s theme. The look perfectly captured the year’s theme of Chinese culture's influence on Western fashion. When asked what her first Met Gala experience was like, the actor told People magazine, “Going to the Met Ball was a night to remember, overwhelming but in the best kind of way.”
Zendaya donned a shimmering one-shoulder gold gown, designed by Michael Kors. She paired it with a sleek bowl-cut hairstyle in this futuristic-centered theme and completed the look with bold smoky eye makeup. The gown’s minimalist design was elevated by its sleek silhouette, and Zendaya's bold bowl cut gave it a sci-fi edge. This look was a perfect blend of modern elegance and technological inspiration.
Considered one of her best Met Gala looks, Zendaya wore a Dolce & Gabbana, Alta Moda ball gown, covered in delightful parrot designs and vibrant colors of yellow and red, for the event in 2017. She paired the look with her natural long curls, a bright coral lipstick, and a subtle glowing highlighter to add to her shine. The outfit was part of Dolce & Gabbana's Midsummer Night's Dream-themed Alta Moda Fall 2015 Couture collection, marking the only Met Gala to date where Zendaya wore an actual runway piece rather than a bespoke custom creation
Zendaya stunned fans with a custom Versace dress inspired by Joan of Arc. The gown embodied the inner essence of the French heroine and Roman Catholic saint, with her silver chainmail, sculpted shoulders, and dramatic train. Her longtime stylist and friend, Law Roach, shared his insights behind the inspiration of her dress. In an interview with WWD, he said, "When I knew the theme and Versace, we started the conversation, there were a lot of sketches from Versace and I started thinking about strong women who had a connection to religion," "I dreamt of Joan of Arc one night and called Versace and was like, ‘What if we did something to reference Joan of Arc?' They came back with really, really great sketches." This look was one of her most talked about looks and people started calling it her ‘Amour-like style.’
Zendaya dazzled fans at the 2019 Met Gala, themed "Camp: Notes on Fashion," in a transformational Cinderella-inspired gown designed by Tommy Hilfiger. Her stylist, Law Roach, acted as her fairy godfather, using a wand to activate the dress's LED lights, making it shine and change color, creating a magical moment on the red carpet. This combination was more than just a fashion statement; it represented Zendaya's journey from her Disney Channel roots to more mature assignments, marking a huge evolution in her career. This was her most iconic look, to date. While walking the carpet, she even left a glass slipper behind, completing the fairytale re-telling.
After a five-year hiatus, Zendaya returned as the co-chair of this year’s Met Gala. It was only fair that she served the audience with two looks, her first look was a Maison Margiela gown by John Galliano with deconstructed layers and delicate lace, and then a classic Givenchy ensemble from 1999 that exuded timeless elegance. Her first look was the blue and green dress featured an asymmetrical neckline and was adorned with leaves and grapes. A feathered headpiece and dark, gothic makeup completed her iconic look. For the second time when she walked the carpet, Zendaya dazzled her fans with a never-before-worn black gown from John Galliano’s 1996 Givenchy collection. The black gown had off-the-shoulder sleeves, a full skirt, and a lengthy train. The gothic look was completed with a headpiece Alexander McQueen designed in 2007 to look like a bouquet of flowers.