Zendaya threw outdated gender rules out the window last week when she rocked up to a New York Fashion Week party wearing the same patterned suit fellow actor Michael B. Jordan wore to an Oscars party earlier this year.
Fans were quick to point out the twinning looks, but it was Jordan’s response that sent the Twittersphere into a fashion frenzy. Instagram account The Shade Room posted a photo comparing the two looks with the caption, “who did it best?” and without missing a beat, Jordan commented, “@Zendaya hands down. No contest.”
It’s not the first time Zendaya has flipped the often tired fashion script. In 2016, she released her own fashion line, Daya by Zendaya, which was not only refreshingly affordable, but inclusive to all shapes, sizes and genders. Zendaya also ensured that the models who appeared in her advertising campaign came from a variety of backgrounds and had a range of skin tones.
Zendaya is joined by other actresses who refuse to conform to the expectation that the only acceptable red carpet outfit for women is a dress.
Westworld actress Evan Rachel Wood made the decision to trade in her red carpet gown for a suit in 2017 and she’s never looked back. “I knew that when awards season rolled around I wanted to walk down that red carpet in a Marlene Dietrich suit [and] just take a stance, because I know there’s pressure and I know there’s all this fear involved of not being liked or not being wanted or not making a best-dressed list,” she told the LA Times.
“And I just thought I don’t want to live my life like that – and I don’t think other people want to either.”
Wood and Zendaya are breaking down old-fashioned stereotypes and expectations that have been placed on women for years, proving that suits aren’t just for Hollywood hunks.