The internet has waited with bated breath to see what knockout ensemble Zendaya would don at the Met Gala, and, of course, the style superstar served up everything plus on the red carpet.
But who’s really surprised?
Fresh off gagging fans on the Challengers press tour with her viral tennis ball heels (a nod to her character, Tashi, a tennis star, in the sports film), the style chameleon made the world stop when she arrived at the highly anticipated New York event wearing an ethereal royal blue and emerald Maison Margiela mermaid gown.
Zendaya — a co-chair of the event alongside Bad Bunny, Chris Hemsworth, Jennifer Lopez and Anna Wintour — fully leaned into the evening’s theme of “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” and its “Garden of Time” dress code with her mesh-veiled headpiece and bold, smoky, gothic makeup.
The Marvel star’s sheer outfit triggered a tsunami of praise from fans on X (formerly Twitter).
Zendaya led fashion’s biggest night with yet another stunning look later on in the evening.
For her second red carpet look, the Emmy-winning actress sported a massive lacy black gown and a multicolored floral crown.
Adding to the wow factor of the Euphoria star’s outfits, her stylist and pal, Law Roach, revealed that her stunning looks were actually last-minute constructions.
Speaking with The New York Times, Law said her outfit concepts were still a distant dream just days before the event.
“I haven’t seen Zendaya’s dress!” he told the Times as recently as Thursday. “We’ve been on two press tours – Dune 2 and Challengers – and doing two Vogue covers. The dress isn’t even made. They won’t fit until Saturday.”
This year’s Met Gala marks the first time Zendaya has attended in five years.
She last attended in 2019 when she went full princess in a magical, light-up Cinderella ball gown by Tommy Hilfiger for the gala’s “camp” theme.
Zendaya previously spoke of her love for creating “characters” with her outfits.
“I like to look at fashion as creativity,” she explained while appearing on an April 23 episode of Live With Kelly And Mark. “Even in press tours, it’s a way to continue the creativity from the film.”
“I like to just create characters, because ultimately sometimes, doing this for a living feels a little weird and awkward, and I’m more of a shy, introverted person, so I get to create these characters. ‘I’m this woman today who wears a green suit.’ You get to embody this character for a day, and clothes can do that for you.”