Zendaya has always aced the red carpet. But her latest press tour is, well, a grand slam.
In recent weeks, the actor has been promoting her new movie “Challengers,” in which she plays a tennis star-turned-coach who must navigate her husband’s career on the courts as he prepares to face his former best friend (and her ex-boyfriend).
And as has become perhaps all-too-expected, her looks have been a symbiotic mix of “method dressing” and personal style — from campy details like tennis balls on her heels to elegant pleated gowns that call to mind classic tennis whites. Zendaya is also on the May covers of both American and British “Vogue,” though neither of the magazine’s shoots delved too deeply into the sportswear space.
“We are constantly trying to be inspired by the film, whether that be literally — like this morning, I had tennis balls in my shoes — or more just the essence of a character, or a concept, or an idea,” Zendaya said of the visual storytelling she and her long-term “image architect” Law Roach have sought to achieve in her interview with US Vogue.
Onlookers have come to expect this attention to detail from the duo. Earlier this year, for example, while touring for “Dune: Part Two,” Zendaya’s looks consistently paid homage to the film and its sci-fi dystopia — most notably, she stepped out in an archival (and yet inherently futuristic) Thierry Mugler space suit at the movie’s London premiere.
“What she allows me to do is to come up with the big story, the big idea, and she takes that and she whittles it down a bit,” Roach told British Vogue.
Scroll to see Zendaya’s best looks from the “Challengers” press tour. This gallery will continue to be updated.
Posing in a New York City movie theater ahead of a screening on April 24, Zendaya's Alaïa gown builds out from tennis polo-style detailing into a full-length, body-conscious hooded gown. - Jenny Anderson/Getty Images
On April 24, the actor stepped out in a twee silk chiffon dress — a vintage piece nearly a century old, "Vogue" reported — and matching cropped jacket in the acid green (read: tennis ball) hue that had repeated throughout the "Challengers" press tour. - STARTHESTAR/SplashNews.com
A pop of that same green appeared as part of striped detailing on an on-the-nose pairing Zendaya wore the day prior: A forest green Tory Burch polo shirt and tennis skirt. (Still, she went with white stilettos rather than sports shoes.) - Fernando Ramales/Backgrid
Another look that could take her straight from the screening to the court — and this time with sneakers: Zendaya wore a Longchamp top and pleated skirt on April 24. - Gotham/GC Images/Getty Images
For an April 24 appearance on "The Kelly Clarkson Show," Zendaya wore a tennis white-worthy Christian Siriano blouse and wide-legged pants. - Weiss Eubanks/NBCUniversal
Accompanied by her stylist Law Roach (left), Zendaya appeared for an interview on "Good Morning America" on April 23 in an acid green Mugler power suit. - RW/Mediapunch/Shutterstock
For an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel's talk show on April 18, Zendaya wore a vintage Ralph Lauren blazer, nodding to the label's role in outfitting officials at the famed Wimbledon tennis tournament. - Randy Holmes/Disney
At the Los Angeles photocall, she donned a pop of candy pink courtesy of French label Jacquemus. The dress here transforms from a polo shirt's silhouette into a flared skirt courtesy of midriff cutouts and lace tie detailing. - Eric Charbonneau/Getty Images
Perhaps not an obvious tennis-inspired look, but still a sartorial ace — at the Los Angeles premiere on April 16, Zendaya wore lacy, voluminous Vera Wang. - Monica Schipper/Getty Images
Following the "Challengers" premiere in Los Angeles on April 16, Zendaya attended an after-party in a draped neon green Celia Kritharioti gown — with a literal tennis ball detail at the navel. - Eric Charbonneau/Getty Images
In Milan on April 14, she attended a pre-premiere event in vintage Ralph Lauren. Her all-white look featured clean lines and a chic collar. - Stefania M. D'Alessandro/Getty Images
And during an April 13 photocall in Monte Carla, Monaco, the actor donned a chunky knit cream sweater and skirt — perfect for courtside seats. - Valery Hache/AFP/Getty Images
At the "Challengers" London premiere on April 10, Zendaya was center stage (if not center court) in a crisp white Thom Browne gown with a pleated skirt and tennis racket embroidery. - Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images
She paired her elegant Thom Browne gown with a chic hair bow. - Hoda Davaine/Dave Benett/WireImage/Getty Images
A detailed look at the gown showcases the pleated skirt's mesh detailing and sequins. - Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images
At the Rome premiere on April 8, Zendaya wore an all-white blazer and skirt by Calvin Klein. - Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images
In one of the more literal looks, she wore a custom Loewe dress to a photocall in Rome on April 8, clearly designed to mimic a classic tennis outfit with its pleated skirt and classic lined v-neck. And of course, peep the shoes. - Daniele Venturelli/WireImage/Getty Images
At the Paris premiere on April 6, Zendaya opted for a Louis Vuitton look, in an all-white gown that paired a sculpted bustier with a wide belt and sheer, layered skirt — perhaps the train as a nod to her role as a tennis coach (or trainer). - Emmanuel DunandAFP/Getty Images
At a press call in Paris on April 6, she opted for more Vuitton — a tailored coat from the label's Spring-Summer 2013 collection, with a sharp checkerboard pattern evoking the geometry of a tennis court's boundaries. - Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images
Another Paris press call, another archival Vuitton piece — here, a tailored jacket and pants from Spring-Summer 1999, in an acid green hue that reads as a tennis ball's color palette. - Kristy Sparow/Getty Images
Zendaya's press tour began with the Australian premiere of "Challengers" in Sydney on March 26. There, she wore a sparkling Loewe evening gown mimicking a tennis player's shadow against a grass court. - Flavio Brancaleone/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
At a press call in Sydney, Zendaya wore athleisure-inspired Lacoste pieces — a matching set that, for the most part, would work for playing some sets. - Caroline McCredie
During the “Dune: Part Two,” press tour, Zendaya’s co-stars, including Florence Pugh, Rebecca Ferguson and Timothée Chalamet, matched her commitment to the sartorial ‘bit’ with their own red carpet wardrobes. But for “Challengers,” actors Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist have played things a little safer, for the most part in the slouchy menswear suiting space. One notable exception to that rule, however, was the colorful knit sweater and leather pants combo O’Connor wore to a photocall in Los Angeles (pictured top); a more subtle note also came at the film’s London premiere, when he wore under his suit jacket a white T-shirt with the phrase “I TOLD YA” printed front and center, a nod to a piece Zendaya’s character Tashi wears in the movie.
At the Rome premiere two days earlier, the fashion designer (and Loewe creative director) Jonathan Anderson — who designed many looks in the movie — had also worn a version of the tee.
Pictured here with "Challengers" director Luca Guadagnino, designer Jonathan Anderson (right) in a piece straight out of the movie's wardrobe department. - Elisabetta A. Villa/Getty Images =
And coming full circle, Zendaya herself wore the tee during her whirlwind of press events in New York in the final run-up to the film’s April 26 release.
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