Wide-leg trousers, faux fur and a monochrome palette of greys and burgundy: that is the 1970s-inspired mood Zendaya dreamed up, alongside image architect Law Roach, for her second collaborative capsule collection with Tommy Hilfiger. Following their spring outing earlier in the year, the autumn 2019 line carries the pair's evolving partnership into richer, more retrospective territory.
Asked to choose her favourite pieces, Zendaya admits she loves the whole collection but singles out the tailored suits, the polka-dot tie-neck dress and a faux-fur leopard coat. The lessons of the first collection, she says, were largely practical: she came away understanding more about the design process and how to work efficiently through the different stages of product development.
The new season keeps a thread running back to its predecessor. Where the spring collection played on a zodiac theme, autumn introduces a constellation print as what Zendaya calls a natural continuation, tying the two capsules together. The most enjoyable part of the work, she adds, was experimenting with different prints and scales and mixing them so that the results felt fresh while remaining wearable in everyday life.
Family runs through her account of who inspires her. Both her grandmothers, her mother, her aunts and her sisters, she says, play an important role in her life and are the women who inspire her most. That sense of connection extends to the people who buy the clothes; seeing fans wear a piece leaves her feeling honoured and humbled, given that she created the collection for them.
For Zendaya, fashion is less about a fixed signature than about narrative. She has often said she does not really have one style, preferring to use clothing as a means of telling a story. Working with Roach, she enjoys inventing different personas through her looks and turning up on the red carpet in something unexpected, a habit she credits with helping her grow into the woman she is today.
