At just 22, Zendaya is at the top of her game — as evidenced by her just-released cover of Vogue’s June issue.
Her meteoric rise and acknowledgement from the fashion world is particularly sweet for the actress, whose first big fashion moment involved a very public feud with E!’s Fashion Police and Giuliana Rancic.
But as Zendaya points out now, things turned out quite alright for her in the aftermath of that moment: In addition to covering Vogue, she’s starring in HBO’s new series Euphoria, designing her own Tommy x Zendaya collection, and posing for Lancôme as the brand’s youngest global ambassador.
Glamour girl! Zendaya covers the June issue of Vogue magazine, shot by Tyler Mitchell
Working it! The actress, who is set to star in the new HBO series Euphoria, posed in several designer outfits
Change: She told the magazine that while she does not consider herself an activist, she does want to use her art and her platform to make a difference
Number two! This is already Zendaya’s second Vogue cover; her first was July 2017
Zendaya was photographed by Tyler Mitchell for Vogue’s June issue. On the cover, she looks stunning in a gold sequined Ralph Lauren Collection dress with a plunging neckline that reaches just above her navel.
Already on her second Vogue cover — her first was in July 2017, shot by Mario Testino — the actress is clearly quite comfortable making a fashionable statement.
In fact, she wore one of the more show-stopping looks at the Met Gala on Monday night, donning a light blue Cinderella-inspired Tommy Hilfiger dress. As her stylist Law Roach — dressed as her fairy godmother — waved a wand, the gown magically lit up and changed color.
But her first super buzz-worthy red carpet moment was back in 2015, when she walked the red carpet at the Oscars in a Vivienne Westwood dress.
It wasn’t her dress, though, that earned the most attention: It was her long dreadlocks.
Ta-da! On Monday, Zendaya dressed as Cinderella for the Met Gala
Bippity boppity boo! Her stylist, Law Roach, performed fairy godmother duties and transformed her gown
After the event, her look was critiqued on E!’s Fashion Police, with host Giuliana Rancic saying that they make her look like she ‘smells like patchouli oil. Or weed.’
Zendaya hit back at the time, writing on Instagram: ‘There is already harsh criticism of African-American hair in society without the help of ignorant people who choose to judge others based on the curl of their hair.
‘My wearing my hair in locs on an Oscar red carpet was to showcase them in a positive light, to remind people of color that our hair is good enough.’
Four years later, she says of the incident: ‘That whole thing was so crazy.’
‘I mean, I’d basically snuck onto the red carpet, the plus one of a plus one,’ she went on. In 2018, ‘I got invited back as a presenter. So I guess I won.’
Zendaya hasn’t just made a name for herself with her style — she’s also been outspoken about issues like race, though she won’t call herself an ‘activist.’
Flashback: Back in 2015, Zendaya ‘snuck’ on to the Oscars red carpet through a friend and wore her hair in dreadlocks
On top: She hit back after Giuliana Rancic made some comments about her hair, and now says she ‘won’ since she was invited back to present at the Oscars last year
One issue in particular she’s interested in is gentrification, having seen her grandma nearly loose her home in Oakland because of skyrocketing prices.
‘I keep thinking, Is there a way I can help with this, through art?’ she said. ‘I mean, obviously, I’ve got a platform, but I also know, don’t just post whatever. You’ve got to listen to people. Talking is important. But walking the talk is important, too.’
She added that she hopes to talk to other young people who have been active in combating issues like these.
‘What I’d really like is to reach out to my peers in the Bay Area. Like, there are kids I was in elementary school with, who are out there doing the work. Organizing. Maybe they can help me figure out what to do,’ she said.