Zendaya's Flawless Look For The Odyssey New York Premiere Is A Cheeky Nod To Her Disney Days
Zendaya plays Athena, the goddess of wisdom and warfare, in Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey," and she's spent the press tour dressing like someone still in character. At the New York premiere of the film on July 14, Zendaya ended this stunning sartorial run by literally sprouting wings, embodying a walking facsimile of Athena Parthenos on the red carpet. For fans in the know, it was an outfit that gave a cheeky, full-circle nod to the Disney days of her youth.
The New York premiere of "The Odyssey" brought the crew and nigh the entire industry together at the AMC Lincoln Square, where Zendaya appeared in a strapless ivory gown designed by avant-garde French label Matières Fécales. What makes the 'fit even more iconic is that it recalls Zendaya's time as a Disney Channel kid. In "Shake It Up," the Disney series she starred in alongside Bella Thorne, Zendaya dresses as an angel for a photoshoot in the Season 1 episode, "Model It Up." She wore the first outfit more than 15 years ago, though, so whether this was a deliberate callback or not hasn't been confirmed by either Zendaya herself or Law Roach, who styled the red carpet look.
Zendaya spent the film's press tour wearing other incredible outfits that directly reflect her character, whether it was the built-in headscarf and antique earrings she paired with a Jacquemus on July 5 or the Spring 1997 McQueen Givenchy she wore under a gilded Philip Treacy mask in Paris on July 7. However, nothing hammered the point home as hard as the couture equivalent of a mythological goddess in wings.
It's a testament to Zendaya's stunning transformation over the years that the same person can headline a Disney dance sitcom and a Christopher Nolan epic and yet feel completely at home in both. The ensemble may not be among Zendaya's most daring outfits, but considering "The Odyssey" and her roots, it's arguably the most fitting.
Zendaya's Matières Fécales wings were two years in the making
Zendaya has been performing since childhood, and it was the Disney Channel that turned her into a teenage star in 2010 with "Shake It Up." That was years before Hollywood came calling. The leap from the world of kids' television to a Homeric epic by Christopher Nolan is jarring, but even before the phone rang, Zendaya knew she wanted to be a part of this story. Zendaya and Tom Holland worked alongside one another on this project, just as they have in the MCU, and their partnership gave her an early start on the role. "I kind of cheated a little bit because Tom had the script at home before I got the call, so I did a little sneaky peek," she revealed to E! News. The dress was a different story altogether.
While walking the red carpet at the New York premiere, Zendaya explained that stylist Law Roach had earmarked the dress well before the press tour began. "Law put this on hold a long time ago. Like, two years ago," she told the same outlet. The label backed that claim up, writing on Instagram that Roach had asked it to reserve the gown for her nearly two years earlier, and that it had turned down other requests to keep that promise, calling it the right fit for the moment.
Considering how utterly stunning Zendaya looked on the red carpet, especially alongside other icons like Anne Hathaway, Lupita Nyong'o, and Charlize Theron, it's clear the dress and the role of Athena were well worth the wait. From a Disney soundstage to a Nolan set, Zendaya has earned her place among the gods — the entertainment gods, that is.