Zendaya Dons All Black Designers on the Cover of InStyle’s September Issue
By Claudia Langella
September is an important month in fashion. Traditionally, fashion month kicks off in New York City, but with the coronavirus disrupting all schedules, it looks as if New York runways will be pretty bare this season. One constant this season are September issues, and boy were we blown away by Zendaya’s cover for InStyle!
The twenty-three-year-old actress models Black designers’ pieces throughout the entire editorial spread. Jason Rembert of Aliétte designed the red dress Zendaya sports on one of the covers, and the second one features a Hanfia dress with pleats and an open back. Zendaya has been working with stylist Law Roach for many years now, and he stepped in to style this entire shoot. In an Instagram post, Roach thanked InStyle editor-in-chief Laura Brown for the opportunity to highlight some pretty amazing Black talent.
"You allowed me, a Black stylists [sic], to creative direct an editorial with my beautiful Black muse Zendaya,” he wrote, “and feature clothing from all Black designers, shoes from all Black shoe designers, jewels from all Black jewelry designers, we feature Black art from Black artists...Look at the magic we can create when someone gives us the opportunity."
It’s a powerful statement made by Zendaya and her team after the tumultuous summer the United States saw after the murder of George Floyd. But, the powerful statements don’t end with the images and styling. The accompanying interview is between Zendaya and Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors, in which the two speak on their experiences of activism and anxiety in this day and age.