SEPTEMBER 2019 123
I LOVE HER style ... “ Tommy Hilfiger begins to list, looping his little
finger as Zendaya sashays around in the background in golden platforms,
possibly within earshot, cool as a cucumber, metallic make-up
shimmering in the light. Funk and soul classics from Prince to Diana
Ross boom into the 7th arrondissement studio, keeping the tempo up
as the pair prepare to work on their collaboration late into the night,
finishing pieces and completing fittings with Joan Smalls and Pat
Cleveland ahead of their first Paris Fashion Week see-now-buy-now
show tomorrow. “I love that she’s in film, TV and music,” he muses, three
more fingers quickly disappearing. “And she believes in what she believes
in,” and just like that, thumb gone too, we’re already out of digits to count
all the ways Hilfiger knew Zendaya had to be his latest global ambassador.
And we get it. Because Zendaya, the 23-year-old American actress
and singer with close to 60 million followers on Instagram, is not short
of admirers.
Just this year, we’ve seen her in HBO’s Euphoria, the bildungsroman
TV drama that made controversial waves with its eyes-wide-open
depiction of teenage sexuality and drug use in suburban America.
She’s also appeared in Netflix’s second series of The OA; reprised her
role as Michelle Jones in the latest Spider-Man instalment (with electric
chemistry opposite British co-star Tom Holland); and completed
filming alongside Timothee Chalamet, Charlotte Rampling and Jason
Momoa on next year’s all-star sci-fi, Dune. And that’s just acting.
Fashion highlights include that Met Gala Cinderella moment in a tech-
smart dress (a wry nod to her Disney Channel days). But Zendaya
eclipsed all the above when she linked arms with Hilfiger on the
spring/summer ’19 runway, having just sent out their first
TommyXZendaya 1970s- and zodiac-inspired collection. For the show,
the pair had cast all black models, from the age of 18 to 70, and everyone
from Winnie Harlow to Grace Jones walked for them. Fashion never
felt so refreshing. All the clothes were available immediately, globally,
from sizes 4 to 24 – the first time that’s ever happened.
“I did that because it’s important to me,” Zendaya states, matter-of-
factly. “I wouldn’t have done this without it. If my older sister, if my
mother, if my aunties, if they couldn’t wear these clothes that I’m
designing, then why would I make them?”
Thankfully, Hilfiger’s approach was: “I’ll let you do anything you
want!” He grins, remembering his head-over-heels courtship of
Zendaya. And so, after many emails, FaceTiming, meetings and
messaging, a friendship blossomed and a collaboration formed.
Hilfiger, it seems, was no easy taskmaster, either: “You know, we had it
in a good place [at one point],” Zendaya begins, “but Tommy was like:
‘I think you can do better’. And I was like: ‘Word. I hear you!’” Zendaya
recalls of rising to the challenge. “He offered so much guidance,
because we have all these ideas, but it’s wonderful to have someone
with the experience and the knowledge; someone who can push you to
take that next step.”
Singer and actor Zendaya’s design collaboration with Tommy
Hilfiger may look to the 1970s, but its message of inclusivity
is firmly rooted in the now. By Natalie Evans-Harding.
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