Zendaya's Been On a Retro Fashion Kick, and We're Here For It
If you’ve been following Zendaya‘s style choices recently, you might have noticed she’s been leaning into fashion’s fascination with eras past. Some nostalgic references are more subtle than others—a cropped sweater here, a mod plaid there—but it’s definitely been noticeable.
“This year we’ve been playing around with decades—I’ve been really into my ‘60s vibe recently, hence the look,” she told Glamour of the two-piece, sequined-and-feathered Prada set she was wearing at our Women of the Year kick-off event, co-hosted by Barneys New York. “That’s what we’ve been really into right now, and [we’re] riding that wave [for] as long as we feel like we like it.”
We weren’t surprised, then, when she followed that Prada look with a hot-pink Viktor & Rolf jumpsuit at the actual awards that felt very retro-glam the following day.
“I like to think that, when it comes to fashion, my stylist [Law Roach] and I are always evolving and changing,” she said. “But the one thing that remains the same is that we continue to have fun and not take it so damn seriously. Fashion is supposed to be a tool to find yourself and learn more about yourself and that’s what I’ve done.” It’s not just she and Roach doing the work: Zendaya says she loves seeing how her peers are also “being super adventurous and different and having fun” when it comes to fashion. “Often we look back at different trends and we don’t realize that someone had to set those trends—somebody had to change it, somebody had to do something different,” she told us. “I think it’s nice to see that right now, it’s a melting pot of every single decade: you see someone with ‘90s, with ‘80s, with ‘70s—all in one outfit.”
Go through some of Zendaya’s greatest fashion hits from past months, and there are plenty of other examples of how to bring old-school trends into the present: the bedazzled Viveta suit from the Variety Power of Young Hollywood party, the H&M x Erdem sweater-and-skirt combo from the collaboration’s runway show, or even the Ralph & Russo gown from the Spider Man: Homecoming premiere. Basically, if you’re seeking style inspiration with a vintage edge, look no further than Zendaya in 2017.