Zendaya’s stylist name-drops designers who refused to dress her
Zendaya’s longtime personal stylist, Law Roach, claimed on a recent episode of The Cutting Room Floor podcast with host Recho Omondi that major designer brands refused to collaborate with her at the start of her career.
Roach said, “I would write [to] Saint Laurent, Chanel, Gucci, Valentino, and Dior, and they would all say, ‘No, try again next year. She’s too green. She’s not on our calendar. I still have all the receipts. I still have everything.”
Designers’ attitudes toward clothing changed after Zendaya became popular, making her Met Gala debut at the age of 18 and obtaining her first American Vogue cover two years later. Law has made it known that their original reluctance will never be forgotten.
“By the time she got to American Vogue, she still had never worn any of those designers. She still hasn’t,” he said, noting that the actress only started wearing Valentino in public after signing a lucrative deal with the company in 2020.
When Omondi expressed his shock, Law explained that, except for editorial shoots, Zendaya hasn’t worn looks from any of those companies and won’t anytime soon—all because they were so quick to turn her down in the first place. “She still has never worn Dior on a carpet. She still has never worn Chanel on a carpet. She has still never worn Gucci on a carpet—no press, no appearance—never. Never.”
He added, “The first time she wore Valentino in public was when she had a contract, so when I said, ‘If you say no, it’ll be a no forever,’ that rang true for a long, long time.”
