The fashion brands which reportedly refused to work with Zendaya, according to stylist
Law Roach has revealed which major luxury brands refused to work with Zendaya at the start of her career, and why she still doesn’t wear some to this day.
The stylist, who’s gained worldwide fame for his fashion collaborations with the Challengers star, recently opened up about the difficulties of sourcing red carpet looks for Zendaya. While appearing on the latest episode of The Cutting Room Floor podcast with host Recho Omondi, Roach spoke about being turned down by Chanel, Saint Laurent, Dior, Gucci, and Valentino.
“I would write [to] Saint Laurent, Chanel, Gucci, Valentino, Dior and they would all say: ‘No, try again next year. She’s too green. She’s not on our calendar,’” Roach recalled. “I still have all the receipts. I still have everything.”
The 45-year-old fashion icon explained that by the time Zendaya landed her first American Vogue cover in 2017, the Disney Channel alum still had yet to wear designs from the five major labels. According to Roach, Zendaya only began wearing Valentino when she landed a contract with the brand in 2020.
“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. Any press, any appearance, never,” Roach maintained.
Now, it seems that the stylist has since kept a record of which luxury designers refused to dress Zendaya before she became two-time Emmy winner. “When I said: ‘If you say no, it’ll be a no forever,’ that rang true for a long long time,” he added.
As a clip of Roach’s podcast appearance went viral on TikTok, many fans took to the comments section to praise the stylist for defending Zendaya throughout their relationship – which began when she was just 14 years old.
“I love that he don’t play about Zendaya,” one fan commented on TikTok, while another user said: “He protected her and I’M HERE FOR IT.”
“I want those designers BEGGGINNNGGG now,” a third fan exclaimed, as someone else wrote: “He stood on business and I applaud him for that. Also, every designer that said yes, she looks great in!”
This isn’t the first time Roach has spoken about the difficulties of dressing Zendaya in designer brands at the start of her career. Speaking to Vogue, he shared that the duo would pluck vintage pieces for Zendaya’s red carpet appearances out of necessity.
“We’ve been [pulling vintage] since Zendaya and I began working together, for 13 years now. At first, it came out of necessity because back when we started, nobody would lend her clothes,” he said. “And I come from vintage – I had a vintage store in Chicago – so a lot of the things that she wore were things from my store or vintage pieces.”
The Euphoria actor went on to make her Met Gala debut at age 18 and scored her first Vogue cover two years later. Since then, the duo have turned heads with their iconic fashion collaborations. During the press tour for Dune: Part Two, Roach styled Zendaya in a robot-style outfit from the Thierry Mugler archives for the film’s London premiere in February. While promoting Challengers, Zendaya gave tenniscore a whole new meaning with her bright green gowns, white tennis skirts, and show-stopping tennis ball heeled shoes.
Earlier this week, Zendaya made her return to the Met Gala for its “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” theme - where she also served as co-chair. The Spider-Man: No Way Home star walked the red carpet in a peacock-coloured gown designed by John Galliano for Maison Margiela Artisanal, styled by none other than Roach. Along with her dramatic blue and green gown, which was a nod to Dior’s spring 1999 couture collection, she paired the look with a Philip Treacy headpiece featuring a singular black feather and a fake hummingbird resting on her shoulder.
In addition to her draped blue and emerald green dress, Zendaya changed into a surprise second look: a black dress from Givenchy’s spring/summer 1996 couture collection, paired with a floral bouquet as a headpiece.
Just days before the Met Gala, however, Roach admitted that Zendaya’s first red carpet dress had yet to be even made.
The Independent has contacted Saint Laurent, Chanel, Gucci, Valentino, and Dior for comment.
