Zendaya Wants You To Look At The Back Of Her Dress

Zendaya’s red carpet portfolio is jam-packed with impeccable looks. Her formal outfits are not only breathtaking in their beauty, but are also empowering and unique. (Remember when she wore Loewe’s metal breastplate dress in October 2021?) Recently, the multi-hyphenate once again demonstrated her ability to put together a next-level red carpet look. During the Ballon d'Or photocall, Zendaya wore a black dress with a cool design twist. While her vintage Roberto Cavalli LBD looked modest from the front, the back featured an intricate metal spine detail. The designer number also contained an uncanny reference to her Spider-Man movie franchise.

On Nov. 25, Zendaya walked the Théâtre du Châtelet red carpet in Paris while wearing a slinky, three-quarter sleeve maxi dress. The Roberto Cavalli piece was from the fashion house’s Fall 2000 collection and the back displayed a skeletal spine with two claw-like details. The house’s current Creative Director Fausto Puglisi worked with Zendaya’s stylist, Law Roach, to ensure the archival piece would fit the actor’s silhouette. To complete her show-stopping ensemble, Zendaya wore a pair of oversize Jamma hoops from Jennifer Fisher, her favorite Bvlgari Magnifica ring, and a pair of black So Kate pumps from Christian Louboutin.

This red carpet appearance was part of Zendaya’s press tour for her upcoming film Spider-Man: No Way Home. (It is the last movie in the Spider-Man trilogy and in all three, she plays the character MJ: Spider-Man’s classmate and girlfriend.) Soon after the images of Zendaya in this Roberto Cavalli number came out, the actor’s fan account @dayacrue pointed out the dress’ clever reference to one of the Spider-Man characters, Dr. Octopus. The infamous villain had four metal tentacles expending from the back of his body, which drew parallels to Zendaya’s own claw-like dress. To confirm that she, too, agreed with this fan statement, Zendaya reposted the side-by-side comparison on her Instagram story, saying, “we love a reference.”

For Marvel aficionados, Spider-Man: No Way Home will premiere on Dec. 17 — so mark your calendars. And if you want to tap into Zendaya’s OMG-worthy look for your next formal event, shop the open-back dresses that closely resemble her vintage Roberto Cavalli gown, ahead.

We only include products that have been independently selected by TZR’s editorial team. However, we may receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.