Celebrity Style
Zendaya’s Take On The No-Pants Look Was So Tennis-Coded
She just keeps serving.
Zendaya is a sartorial chameleon. Every time she has a new project, she goes method on her press tours — method dressing, that is. When she was promoting the Spider-Man franchise, she consistently wore arachnid-inspired ensembles. And on the press tour for Dune, which wrapped last month, she consistently brought the movie’s sci-fi sensibilities to her red carpet looks in futuristic co-ords and high-fashion robosuits.
In her project of the moment, Challengers, Zendaya plays a Grand Slam tennis champ. Naturally, the actor entered wholly new sartorial era to match. For weeks, she’s been turning out tenniscore looks heavily inspired by the sport. Her latest even included a custom-made mesh skirt reminiscent of a tennis net.
Zendaya’s Tennis Net Skirt
On Wednesday, March 27, while on the film’s Australian press tour, Zendaya wore an all-white ensemble with a cheeky tennis reference. But it wasn’t your typical sports attire.
Styled by her go-to stylist Law Roach, Zendaya wore a high-neck sports bra with a smocked band — a typical choice of any athlete. Her bottoms, however, were a lot less common. Instead of bike shorts or leggings, she paired the top with matching high-waist undies made of the same ivory fabric (i.e. high-fashion tighty-whities).
She drew attention to her no-pants look by throwing on a crystal-encrusted skirt, slung far below her waistband. It was an unexpectedly sporty take on the pantsless trend.
The skirt’s material made for another subtle tennis nod. Made from loose-woven mesh, the piece resembled the dividing net of a tennis court. The entire look, save for her Bulgari jewels, was custom-made by Lacoste.
Zendaya noted the comparison on her Instagram Stories, writing: “When your heel keeps getting caught in your net lol.”
More Of Zendaya’s Tennis-Inspired Looks
It wasn’t the first time Zendaya channeled her Challengers character, Tashi Duncan. She went viral just a day prior, at the film’s Australian premiere in a custom Loewe dress drenched in seafoam crystals.
The item’s most interesting detail was the trompe l’oeil print: a tennis player with a racket, mid-serve. She completed the look with matching pointed pumps also embellished with crystals.
She did, indeed, serve.
