Zendaya the Face of Valentino’s new Campaign Rendez-Vous
One name going around all social media channels and headlines is: Zendaya. The young actress has most certainly made a name for herself. One of the many reasons why the world is currently talking about her is her ongoing collaboration with the luxury fashion house Valentino.
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Zendaya stuns in Valentino’s new Rendez-Vous campaign for Spring 2022. Everyone was waiting to see Euphoria's star in this new appearance.
About The Campaign, Valentino's Rendez-Vous Spring 2022
Zendaya has been the face of Valentino for a little over a year now and the collaboration between the brand and the actress has seen great success, no wonder she is the face of the new 2022 Spring Rendez-Vous collection.
The focus of this campaign is all about a change of perspective. The highlight is mainly on the way fashion comes alive and real when it becomes your companion in your daily life. As an expression of the wearer's unique identity, the garment is met with the beauty of the imperfections of our lives. The creative director of Valentino, Pierpaolo Piccioli, has made it his mission to re-signify the Valentino codes with regards to life and truth and his desire to connect the past to the present. When it comes to promoting the campaign there is no one that can do it better than Zendaya.
As Piccioli describes it: “Zendaya perfectly embodies and represents what Valentino is and stands for, today. She is a powerful and fierce young woman that uses her talent and her work to express herself, her values and her generation as well".
The Premiere Of The Promotional Video And Zendaya
Valentino announced their new campaign earlier last week and shortly afterwards released the promotional video featuring the actress. The video was shot at Warner Bros. Studios in Los Angeles by Marcell Rev and Scott Sakamoto to the song “Crystalised” by The XX with choreography by Stephen Galloway.
The campaign presents Zendaya floating from backstage to the streets to convey a metaphorical journey. It is meant to represent a day in her life and how the garments are a part of that experience. Zendaya posted on Instagram a sneak peek of one of the outfits included in the video, as well as the green suit with a lavender shirt she wore for the press tour of the Spider-Man: No Way Home. We recognised two of the outfits seen in the video but the rest were certainly worth waiting for.
The promotional video did most certainly live up to our expectations, but this is only one of the big news around this campaign. The brand decided to launch pop-ups at four shops in Paris in Le Carreau du Temple from October 1st-5th to celebrate the new collection. Each shop will host exclusive products and events manifesting the Maison’s contemporary values. Keep your ears open because it seems like Valentino is getting ready for an exciting year full of surprises.
Valentino Transforms the World of Haute Couture
Kristen McMenamy, an icon in the fashion industry since the '90s, opened Valentino’s Haute Couture fashion show during Paris Fashion Week. That moment, everyone knew the Italian luxury fashion house had started a revolution in the industry.
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Valentino embraced body diversity during the Paris Haute Couture Week, hopefully inspiring other designers to follow their example.
The World Of Haute Couture
Haute couture is the world of high fashion. If we were to translate it literally, it means "high dressmaking". In other words, it refers to custom-made garments, designed by world-renowned designers and made from high-end, expensive fabrics and stitched with the utmost attention to detail by companies of the highest quality.
Haute couture fashion shows are a form of art. They are just like staging a play or choreographing a performance. From designing the garments to choosing the right models to deliver the message of the collection to selecting the music of the show. When all these little details come together they create a breathtaking fashion show. One of the most anticipated couture fashion shows is the Paris Haute Couture Week.
Valentino Is Redefining The Meaning Of Haute Couture
The world of haute couture consists of custom-made dresses with six-figure price tags and because it symbolises perfection it is seen as an unlikely conduit for modernity. Piccioli thinks otherwise, he sees the symbolic power of the diversity represented at one of the world's most important events as solidifying the winds of change. The shows during Fashion Week have always been about young, perfectly-looking, thin models walking down the runway displaying the garments. This year the creative director of Valentino, Pierpaolo Piccioli decided to follow a different path and go with something that has not been seen before. Models with grey hair and women of all sizes walked down the runway wearing the new collection of the brand.
The Meaning Behind The Show
When asked why Piccioli took on this approach to the show, he shares: “I wanted to break these rules and embrace the idea of different proportions of body, different sizes, different ages. But it was impossible to do this with just one house model. So, I broke the rules and got 10 house models with differently proportioned bodies”.
The runway show immediately stood out from all the others. It featured different body types and models of all ages such as Kristen McMenamy, Marie Sophie Wilson and Violeta Sanchez. In an interview with Vogue, Piccioli shares that those same models who walked on the runway were previously discouraged from even entertaining the possibility of walking couture. That is at the heart of the meaning of the collection. It is not made for a specific body type, more like for a variety of women with different body types and ages. The designer encourages the idea that there is no one definition of what beauty is.
Piccioli is on his way to redefining the way runway shows are heading by breaking down the stereotypes in the industry. He is starting a conversation among people in a position of power in the industry and fashion enthusiasts. One thing is certain – women of different ages, shapes and sizes deserve to be portrayed on the runway.
Zendaya’s Spider-Man themed outfits
Everyone is talking about the new “Spider-Man: No Way Home”, also described by many as the best MCU film in years. The most outstanding fashion looks from the press tour are, of course, Zendaya’s.
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Marvel fans are losing their minds over how Zendaya used the characters from the films as inspiration for her outfits.
The actress has us wondering if this is the way movie stars are going to promote their films from now on. We are about to see, but first, it is time to spend some words on her outfits.
The Black And Gold Suit Inspired Look
Courtesy of maison Valentino
At the big premiere in Los Angeles last December, Zendaya went with a trusted fashion collaborator: Valentino. For the occasion, the designer, Pierpaolo Piccioli crafted a custom beige haute couture gown embroidered with spider webs and completed with a matching eye mask. The pattern covers the entire flowy slip silhouette, which has a deep V-neckline and a slit that goes up to her hip. You can notice how the dress is completely covered in a dainty black spiderweb. This pattern does not just link to the main character on the screen but also to Zendaya's relationship with Tom Holland. A sweet touch to this look. This outfit is actually a reference to Tom Holland’s character in the film – Spider-Man or more specifically the new Spider-Man suit that was introduced in this film. The Black and Gold Suit is indeed Spider-Man’s regular suit but inside out.
The Green Goblin-inspired look
Special attention goes to my personal favourite, the green (goblin) suit. Zendaya and her co-star, as well as partner, made a guest appearance on ‘The Graham Norton Show’, where they were promoting ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home.’ Is there any better way to promote the new release than using props? That is a reference you cannot miss if you are a Marvel fan. The actress wore an exquisite green two-piece suit from Valentino Spring 2022 collection along with a lavender shirt.
No wonder this is the second look by Valentino, considering she has been the face of the brand for a little over a year now, and we can say with certainty she is rocking the Valentino looks. The combination of a classically tailored green jacket with notched lapels and a silk lavender shirt ensured an effortlessly elegant look. Christian Louboutin pumps and Bulgari jewels completed her look. The shirt and colour combination gives this outfit a retro vibe, does it not?
Doctor Octopus-inspired Look
Courtesy of maison Roberto Cavalli
And last, but definitely not least, I would like to highlight Roberto Cavalli’s masterpiece and also the look that spoke most to the fans. At the awards ceremony in Paris, Theatre du Chatelet, also Zendaya and Tom Holland’s first official red-carpet appearance, she showed up in a stunning custom charcoal crêpe de Chine open-back evening dress from Roberto Cavalli’s Autumn/Winter 2000 collection. While there is no doubt that the long, sophisticated black silhouette dress is a masterpiece, all eyes were on the golden detail on the back of the dress. The “spine jewel golden cage was linked by micro golden chains” and re-edited from the original one in order to make the appearance.
Courtesy of maison Roberto Cavalli
And to compliment the golden detail on the back, she had her hair up in a bun and accessorised with large golden hoops. This outfit was inspired by Spider-Man’s greatest villain, Doc Ock, or otherwise known as Dr Otto Octavius. This outfit sparked a conversation online and all eyes were on Zendaya expecting her new public appearance to see what reference she might come up with next.
These are only a few of Zendaya’s iconic fashion moments. She has a lot more to offer to the fashion scene and she is always surprising her fans with her fashion choices. Knowing that she has been fully booked with promoting her new motion pictures “Dune” and “Spider-Man”, as well as the upcoming premiere of season two of Euphoria, we are all eager to see what she is going to surprise us with next. One thing is sure, it is going to leave us speechless again.
