Zendaya isn't joining her boyfriend Tom Holland onstage for his London production of Romeo & Juliet. Attending opening night to cheer him on from the audience, she still dressed the lovestruck part.
Zendaya made a quiet entrance into London's Duke of York Theatre on Thursday evening to take in Holland's performance (which, reports say, received a standing ovation). The actress repurposed her penchant for method dressing for the occasion, channeling a Shakespearian heroine in a Spring 2023 Vivienne Westwood dress dusted with tiny, twinkling embellishments. Her longtime stylist, Law Roach, hasn't posted the look at press time—but fans can assume her image architect was behind the apt look.
The dress includes many of Vivienne Westwood's moody, subversive signatures: a lace-up corset bodice, puffy, three-quarter-length sleeves, and a full skirt. On the runway, it was styled with enormous crocodile platform boots and a coordinating mini bag. Holding hands with Holland on her way out of the theater, Zendaya appeared to skip the exaggerated accessories. She did, however, wear a beaded choker necklace with an oversize pendant and what appeared to be Louboutin boots. Between the romantic neckline and the cinched corset, the actress looked like she could be leaning out a balcony and delivering a piercing soliloquy.
Zendaya and stylist Law Roach have spent the past several months testing the limits of so-called "method dressing." On the press tours for Dune: Part Two and Challengers, the pair selected looks that would translate the essences of Zendaya's characters onto the red carpet. For her Dune intergalactic warrior princess character, Chani, Zendaya wore archival Givenchy and Mugler with space-age visual cues. (One Internet-stopping look was a full-on cyborg suit.) To bring Challengers tennis star Tashi Duncan off the screen, Zendaya wore a range of tennis ball green and Wimbledon white gowns by Louis Vuitton, Loewe, and Thom Browne.
In the past, Zendaya's method dressing hasn't crossed over into her "real life" wardrobe. On rare sightings between her press tour and the 2024 Met Gala, which she co-chaired, Z stuck to basics like trench coats, denim, and comfortable sweats. But now, fans are seeing a new side to her style: One where she apparently nods to her partner's roles with her clothing.
Vivienne Westwood, a staple of the London fashion scene, is a fitting choice for Zendaya's night in the U.K. The last time she wore Westwood publicly was in April, when she chose a vintage set from its '90s Café Society collection for the Challengers London photocall. The brand has also had a busy few months, between kickstarting a corset renaissance adopted by several celebrities (like Kendall Jenner, for the Met Gala afterparties) and crafting a custom gown from recycled taffeta for Taylor Swift's new Eras Tour outfits. Vivienne Westwood's pearl and orb charm choker necklaces have also gone viral several times over the past two years.
In Zendaya's case, her Westwood dress is fit for a modern-day Juliet.
