Fans of the seventh art beware: the Venice Film Festival has just opened its doors this Wednesday, August 30. And it’s not with the long awaited Challengers that the festival inaugurates its first day, but with the Italian film Commander, due to the strike of actors and screenwriters in Hollywood. So little chance of seeing Zendaya, headliner of the feature film by Luca Guadagnino, on the red carpet of the event… As a consolation, Gala.fr looks back on a memorable appearance by the actress, which took place two years earlier on these same steps of the Lido. The American star caused a sensation in a sculptural dress signed Balmain, on the occasion of the presentation of the film Dunesfor which she shared the poster with Thimothée Chalamet.
It was in the middle of the afternoon of September 3, 2021 that Zendaya made her spectacular entrance to the 78th edition of the Venice Film Festival. The one who particularly shone in the series Euphoria advances in front of the photographers like a vestal, molded to perfection in this split leg cream leather piece, imagined by Olivier Rousteing, artistic director of the French brand. It looks like the young woman has just come out of the water, the fabric having stuck to her skin and her hair having been flattened on his head in undulations to give a “wet” effect. An impressive silver necklace adorned with an emerald, signed Bulgari, sits between her two collarbones. At her feet, a simple pair of nude pumps to echo her dress and lengthen her silhouette. The actress is simply breathtaking.
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Zendaya’s bust cast in plaster
If Zendaya’s dress is anything but head-turning, this one is the result of countless hours of work. According to what Vanity Fair in September 2021, this creation “out of the norm required many round trips between the United States and Europe, as well as the talents of the French house” for such a result to be possible. It is first of all a unique piece, inspired by several molded tops from the fall-winter 2020 collection and made to measure for the actress. The result also, of a collaboration between Olivier Rousteing and the stylist of the pretty 26-year-old brunette, Law Roach. “After several exchanges of sketches between the French house and Law Roach during the month of June, Zendaya’s dress was finally made during the months of July and August“, tell our colleagues.
During three weeks of work, the Balmain house team mold Zendaya’s bust, at her home in Los Angeles. The plaster mold serves as a template for making the natural cowhide leather one, then covered with a camel-coloured lambskin drape. Each fold is skilfully studied, as a sculptor would think each of the movements of the dress of his marble statue. The brand’s seamstresses then take two additional days to assemble the skirt to this fabulous bustier. “Two fittings in Los Angeles and then in Venice later, and Zendaya was ready to make a splash on the Venetian red carpet.” Proud of the result, the artistic director of Balmain shares several images of this appearance on Instagram in the days that follow, calling the actress “goddess”. Couldn’t have said it better.
Photo credits: MPP / Bestimage