Zendaya Breaks Her All-Black ‘Spider-Man’ Streak In Archival Versace

This week, Zendaya’s red carpet looks have taken on a decidedly darker bent. While promoting Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the actor and her stylist Law Roach have recently leaned into gothic glamour with Morticia Addams elegance and vampy vintage pulls. For her latest appearance, however, the star brought two-toned complexity into the conversation—in archival Versace, no less.

To attend the premiere of the Marvel movie in Shanghai on Friday, Zendaya donned a dress with both intricate spider-verse mesh and Odyssey-reminiscent draping. The design, from Versace’s spring 2016 couture collection, comprised zig-zagging white fabric alongside black crystal–embellished netting. The assymetrical pattern gathered on one side of the bodice, before cascading out in a thigh-high slit that added movement. She finished the look with an apropos accessory: a spider Chopard brooch, which was studded in diamonds and held a 19-carat yellow sapphire in the center. Her hair reached down her back, and her wispy micro-bangs framed her moody, charcoal smokey-eye glam.

To clarify, this is not the first time on this press tour that Zendaya has veered from an all-black palette—she famously wore a sparkling red-and-blue set, also from the Versace archives. But her somber, shadowy wardrobe has reliably reigned supreme. With this dress, the stark juxtaposition between ethereal draping and hard-edged netting adds a certain storytelling nuance to her method-dressing approach.

The Versace collection the dress was pulled from—presented in 2016 by then-creative director Donatella Versace—dealt with dualities. Its frothy floor-length gowns were contrasted with utilitarian details including sturdy buckles, harness-like straps and hand-crocheted rope studded in Swarovski crystals. Through form-fitting silhouettes, there was a focus on the body and its athletic capabilities as well as its inherent beauty. The piece Zendaya wore perhaps best embodies this—with decadent frothy fabric winding alongside dark, weblike netting. All things considered, it’s a deliciously cinematic pull.

The fourth film of the franchise finds Zendaya’s M.J. with her memory wiped—thus not remembering who Peter Parker is. Some fans have theorized her all-black outfits have been her take on mourning dressing, grieving the romantic relationship of her on-screen counterpart. But other theories have postured that, in the movie, she may be able to piece her recollection back together. In weaving in some delicate, ivory-colored cloth, this outfit may just hint at a glimmer of hope.