9 Distinct Times Zendaya Paid Tribute to Style Icons and Pop Culture on the Red Carpet

Zendaya's vibrant look at the 2021 Academy Awards was classic Cher. The star's neon yellow Valentino gown, which glowed in the dark, was reminiscent of a cutout jumpsuit Cher had once worn on her eponymous variety show with Sonny Bono. What's more, Cher also wore yellow — an embellished Bob Mackie two-piece — for her second-ever Oscars appearance, which can be seen below, in 1973.

Zendaya's appearance at the 2016 Grammy Awards was one big tribute to David Bowie, who had died just a month before of liver cancer. Though her headline-making mullet borrowed from Bowie's Ziggy Stardust era, Zendaya told MTV News she was primarily inspired by his Thin White Duke stage persona of the mid-1970s. Even her double-breasted Dsquared2 suit closely resembled the tuxedo, shown below, Bowie wore to attend the Grammys in 1975!

Zendaya has taken inspiration from Josephine Baker on a number of occasions, but none more significant than for her timeless look at the 2017 Chrysalis Butterfly Ball, which fell on Josephine's birthday that year. The iconic Jazz Age entertainer and activist often wore finger waves and several strands of pearls, both of which informed Zendaya's hairstyle and outfit — an off-the-shoulder Mario Dice dress — at the charity event.

Zendaya's been referencing for years. While attending a Keep a Child Alive event just before Halloween in 2013, she wore a logo-heavy Tommy Hilfiger outfit nearly identical to the one worn by Aaliyah in her famous '90s campaign with the brand. Years later, Zendaya would go on to land her own collaboration with the brand, designing two capsule collections which both came with extravagant runway shows.

Law again dipped into his personal archives to deliver this striking YSL look from the brand's 1982 Haute Couture collection. The two-piece ensemble, which Zendaya wore to Essence's Black Women in Hollywood Awards in 2021, was once owned by Eunice Walker Johnson, the trailblazing businesswoman who famously founded the Ebony Fashion Fair in 1958. In fact, Eunice wore the exact outfit on the cover of Ebony's 25th anniversary issue.

Zendaya wore a sequin Armani Privé dress to the Spider-Man: Far From Home premiere in 2019. And yes, the red and black motif was meant to resemble the superhero's newly revamped suit in the sequel, shown below. "This was our homage to the Far From Home suit that he wears," Zendaya told Entertainment Tonight on the red carpet. "This is my own version."

Zendaya has sought style inspiration from superheroes and villains. To attend the 2019 Emmy Awards, she wore an emerald Vera Wang corset dress with visible boning. Though this red carpet look understandably conjured up comparisons to The Little Mermaid's Ariel, Law was actually inspired by Uma Thurman's portrayal of Poison Ivy in Batman & Robin, and he shared several stills from the 1997 film to Instagram Stories the day of the award show.

Zendaya went for a more overt homage when she dressed like Cinderella to attend the 2019 Met Gala. The baby blue Tommy Hilfiger gown lit up as soon as she hit the camp-themed red carpet, and a velvet headband, choker necklace, and carriage-shaped purse helped complete the princess look. Law, meanwhile, attended the event as the Fairy Godmother in a fitting move.