Photo: Monica Schipper/Getty Images
Zendaya is back on the red carpet, thank God. After debuting her cute new haircut at the Louis Vuitton show in Paris earlier this week, the actress returned Stateside to attend the Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards. In typical Zendaya fashion, she and stylist Law Roach found the perfect dress for the occasion — and one with a fabulous lineage to boot.
The actress arrived in a vintage dress from Cachè that itself is a re-creation of a Eugene Alexander dress from the ’80s. It probably looks familiar, because it’s the same one Carrie Bradshaw wears in the opening scene of the Sex and the City movie. In the movie, a gaggle of young girls walk by Carrie and one of them yells, “Hot dress!” Still true.
In his Instagram post about the look, Roach called it one of “the most iconic dresses in movie history.” I might argue that Carrie’s Vivienne Westwood wedding dress is the more iconic look from the movie, but we don’t have to split hairs.
Before the look belonged to Carrie and Zendaya, it was Whitney Houston’s. The singer wore the original Eugene Alexander dress in 1987 for a promotional photo shoot. When the singer died in 2012, the photo was used on the cover of Life magazine.
Zendaya and Roach taking inspo straight from Carrie Bradshaw’s big wedding movie opens up an amazing realm of possibilities. Will she promote The Drama in a tutu? Is a belt-on-the-torso moment in store for The Odyssey? I think Dune: Part Three is screaming for a comically large gingham hat. The possibilities are endless.
