“We don’t borrow—we buy”: Law Roach talks crafting Zendaya’s immaculate Dune looks

It may be only March, but the Dune: Part Two press tour is already a contender for being the year’s best—and biggest—Hollywood red carpet spectacle.

For the past two months, the film’s lead stars Zendaya, Timothée Chalamet, Florence Pugh, and Austin Butler have been shutting down one step and repeat after another with epic fashions. Zendaya, in particular, has been a real style star. Her longtime stylist Law Roach has crafted a thematic wardrobe built on architectural silhouettes and archival designs. “We adopted method dressing,” Roach tells Vogue. “The looks served as an extension of the wardrobe from the movie; It was intentional and purposeful.”

Of course, when Zendaya and Roach partner up, you know the red carpet is going to be good. Over the years, the duo have collaborated on countless memorable fashion moments. For Dune: Part Two, however, they wanted to do something new. “For the first [press tour,] I hadn’t seen the movie, so I did everything just based off the trailer,” says Roach. “This time around, I knew what to look for.” One of Zendaya’s latest look was in New York City, during the final stop on the tour. She wore a Stéphane Rolland spring 2024 gown, punctuated with sharp cutouts and a trim made out of 3-D gold. “To me, it feels like what the Reverend Mother [portrayed by Charlotte Rampling] would wear.” says Roach. “It reminded me of those costumes.”

Channeling sci-fi futurism in a sleek, avant-garde way is something Roach and Zendaya have been nailing throughout the tour. Earlier this month, the duo’s work went viral when Zendaya emerged in London wearing Thierry Mugler’s archival robot suit from the late designer’s fall 1995 couture collection. “It was a dream to touch it, let alone get approval for her to wear it the way she wore it,” Roach says. “Casey Caldwell and his archive team were so incredible in helping make this collaboration happen.” Of course, when unearthing such a precious piece of fashion history, Roach had to handle the design with care. “It’s 30 years old, so I had respect for its craftsmanship,” he says. “Jean-Jacques [Urcun], the guy who actually crafted it with Mr. Mugler, was in our fittings; He helped dress her the night-of.”

In Seoul this month, Zendaya and Roach delivered another striking vintage moment, when the star slipped into Givenchy’s fall 1999 motherboard dress, designed by the late Lee McQueen. “I have this mental Rolodex of all these things I’ve seen, and when we were looking for a look, I was like, ‘I know I’ve seen this Givenchy somewhere,’” says Roach. “I called the owner of Aralda Vintage, and she still had it. We had it shipped to us in London and fitted there, and then we traveled with it to Korea.” The best part about the design on the red carpet? Seeing it lit up against the paparazzi flashes. “The appliqués are filled with a liquid, and that’s what happens when the light hits it,’ says Roach.

While Roach says he always has a hunch that pulling archive will please red carpet fans, the frequent decision to do so stems from a more personal place. “We never work based on what we think somebody’s reaction is going to be,” says Roach. “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. 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.”

These days, Roach also sees a sustainable advantage to pulling archival designs as well, versus always doing custom. “If we’re really going to have conversations about sustainability, wearing something that somebody else has is kind of the easiest way to do it,” says Roach. “Beautiful clothes should live the longest lives possible, and as many lives as possible. They shouldn’t just lay dormant somewhere.” Often times, Roach says he tries to make as little alterations to the looks a possible, to respect the original integrity of the piece. “It’s very intentional,” he says. “I would never destroy a Lee McQueen! But we are able to alter things a little bit because we buy it. We don’t borrow from vintage dealers—we buy. It’s important to support smaller businesses.”

Though the archival looks have certainly been a standout, Roach has also incorporated some new designs into the mix. In Mexico City, the pair supported emerging British-Nigerian-Brazilian designer Torishéju Dumi by wearing their twisted halter-neck crop top and maxi skirt. In Paris, Roach dressed Zendaya in a sleek white Alaïa dress that wrapped around the form like a snake. “I loved the process of how they created the Alaia,” he says. “It’s 3D-printed and that form was just so architectural and futuristic.” A personal favorite of Roach’s was the golden-foil Louis Vuitton crop top and skirt Zendaya wore to the Paris premiere. “I referenced one of Nicolas Ghesquière’s earlier Vuitton collections, around 2020,” he says of the final design. “With the abs showing, it felt so young, but still so much like Dune.”

With the press tour now over, Roach and Zendaya’s red carpet collaboration will likely go down in fashion history. “I always try to be a storyteller more than anything else, and this such a strong story to tell,” he says of the effort. His immediate plans, now that his and Zendaya’s style serves are coming to a brief halt? “I’m going to try and rest,” Roach says. “But her next press tour for her movie Challengers is in a month. So let’s be on the lookout for that.” Oh, we will.

Preuzeto sa vogue.com