That became a central part of their strategy.
Roach was not simply looking for expensive clothing.
He was looking for memorable clothing.
He wanted people to talk about what Zendaya wore.
He wanted publications to photograph her.
He wanted fashion audiences to recognize her.
And gradually, that strategy worked.
The New Yorker reported that Roach deliberately sought publicity during the early years of their partnership, including putting Zendaya in pieces that had previously been worn by other celebrities in order to generate fashion comparisons and attention.
It was an unconventional approach, but it helped establish a distinctive fashion identity.
The Red Carpet Became Part of the Story
As Zendaya's career grew, fashion became increasingly important to her public image.
Rather than simply appearing at premieres in attractive clothing, she and Roach increasingly treated red-carpet appearances as opportunities to tell stories.
The clothing could reference a film.
It could draw on fashion history.
It could highlight a designer.
It could create a visual connection between Zendaya's role and her public appearance.
This approach helped distinguish the pair from the traditional celebrity-stylist model in which the primary objective might simply be to find a beautiful dress.
Zendaya's red-carpet appearances became events in themselves.
Her 2015 Met Gala appearance, for example, was one of the early major moments in her fashion evolution. The New Yorker described the event as Zendaya's first Met Gala, where she wore a custom red sun-motif dress.
That period marked the beginning of a much larger transformation.
By 2017, Zendaya Had Reached Another Milestone
Zendaya's growing influence became increasingly visible in mainstream fashion.
In 2017, she appeared on the cover of American Vogue.
According to Roach, even by that point Zendaya still had not worn the five fashion houses he had originally approached in the public appearances he was referring to.
He told The Cutting Room Floor podcast that she had worn some of the brands' clothing for editorial purposes, but he made a distinction between those shoots and red carpets, press appearances and other public events.
That distinction is important when discussing the story.
It would be inaccurate to say that Zendaya had never worn anything from those designers under any circumstances.
Roach's claim was specifically about public appearances and red-carpet dressing.
Editorial fashion operates differently.
A magazine can photograph a celebrity in a designer's clothing even when that designer is not supplying looks for the celebrity's public appearances.
Roach said that distinction was part of the reason the five names remained on his list.
Valentino Became an Important Exception
There is also an important exception to the story: Valentino.
Roach said that the first time Zendaya wore Valentino in public was after she had a contract with the fashion house.
That detail demonstrates why it is too simplistic to describe the situation as a permanent ban on every garment from every one of these brands.
Fashion relationships can change.
A brand can work with a celebrity through a formal partnership, campaign or contract in a way that is completely different from a stylist requesting a clothing loan for a particular red-carpet event.
In Zendaya's case, Valentino eventually became part of her public fashion history.
That does not erase Roach's earlier account of what happened when he first approached the brands.
But it does show that the relationship between a celebrity and a fashion house can evolve substantially over time.
Zendaya's Career Changed the Equation
The biggest difference between the early years and today is Zendaya's level of visibility.
She is no longer the teenage Disney performer who was still trying to establish herself.
She became an award-winning actress with major film credits and a substantial global audience.
Her work has included the Spider-Man franchise, The Greatest Showman, Dune, Dune: Part Two, Challengers and the television series Euphoria.