Zendaya Re-Styles Her 2015 Vivienne Westwood Oscars Dress as Her "Something Old" for 'The Drama' Premiere
"It meant so much to me, this dress," Z shared from the film's red carpet.
It's hard not to reminisce on a star's first Oscars best-dressed appearance during Academy Awards season. I never expect to actually see that gown return on a 2026 red carpet—especially not Zendaya's. But on March 17, Zendaya re-wore the 11-year-old, Vivienne Westwood dress from her Oscars red carpet debut at The Drama's initial premiere in L.A.
After weeks of teasing her press tour's bridal style—and a surprise 2026 Oscars appearance— Zendaya shifted into high method gear in the déjà vu-inducing Vivienne Westwood dress. Every stark white element, from the cinched corset and off-the-shoulder sleeves to the delicate silk satin drapery looked fresh from a wedding aisle. As you might remember from the 2015 Oscars, the chiffon sleeves gathered in the back, before creating a veil-esque train.
Zendaya's Chopard diamonds were a bit more mature this time around, but just as wedding-worthy. Her Jessica McCormack, east-west engagement ring and brand-new wedding band were joined by elongated drop earrings with 26.82-carats of diamonds. To finish, she frosted her fingers with contrasting rings, including a 3-carat, oval-cut engagement sparkler.
Zendaya's "something old?" Her Vivienne Westwood wedding dress from the 2015 Oscars.
She gave the chiffon train-turned-veil a moment.
Why revive the gown now, and why not at Sunday's 2026 Oscars? When Zendaya was "brainstorming with [stylist Law Roach] about how I would theme dress for this film," she remembered an iconic wedding tradition, she told Variety after her step-and-repeat. "I remembered the saying: 'Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.’ So, this is my something old. I thought I'd bring it back and give it a new life," she added. "It meant so much to me, this dress."
Her "something new" was a sleek bixie hairstyle, which celebrity hairstylist Ursula Stephen curled atop her ears with a 1920s charm.
Back in 2015, the classic wedding-turned-award show gown was the blank canvas to highlight her history-making locs. Discriminatory backlash attacked her hair choice within minutes of her red carpet walk. "It was such an important moment for myself, for my community, for my loved ones...it felt right," Zendaya shared last night. Plus, it "happens to be a white dress, so that worked."
Back in 2015, Zendaya "snuck" onto the Oscars red carpet in the same Vivienne Westwood design.
Another moment for the back, please.
The Drama's wedding plot perfectly aligned with the newlywed's own (secret) nuptials. We might never see her wedding dress, but she's wearing no shortage of white on this press tour. She plays a soon-to-be bride in The Drama, after all.
It all started on March 12 at the Essence Black Women In Hollywood event, when stylist Law Roach dressed her in a vintage little white dress previously worn by Sarah Jessica Parker as Carrie Bradshaw in 2007's Sex and the City. Its oversize floral appliqué and subtle metallic gold feathers would've fit in at her and Tom Holland's wedding shower, if the private couple even had one.
Last week, Zendaya looked every bit a blushing bride in a vintage LWD worn by Carrie Bradshaw.
Z's second bridal The Drama dress debuted on the Louis Vuitton Fall 2026 runway mere days prior. She pulled off the closing look's pleated midi dress, featuring paper-like pleats from Elizabethan collar to hem. (Perhaps creative director Nicolas Ghesquière sent it home with her after the Paris Fashion Week fashion show.) She slipped on her signature Christian Louboutin So Kate pumps in the same stark white shade.
As brand ambassador, Z had no trouble securing a fresh-from-the-runway Louis Vuitton LWD.
With each step-and-repeat, Zendaya is pushing the boundaries on bridal fashion further and further. On March 16, the Challengers star stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live! in a gray-and-white, Bermuda shorts set from Moschino Fall 2026. Its shoulder-padded blazer and trouser-like shorts took cues from co-star Robert Pattinson's costume rack instead. The elongated ruffles atop her undone white button-down, however, felt appropriate for a modern bride. Her white So Kates are quickly becoming this press tour's leading lady.
Before changing into a late-night McQueen look, Zendaya waved to paparazzi in a gray-and-white suit set.
A24 has already outdone itself on The Drama's press rollout. Just by casting Zendaya, the studio cemented the film as one to watch—if not for the storyline's plot twists, for her on- and off-screen style. Better yet, the April 3 release date is still weeks away, meaning Zendaya has plenty of time to deliver any fashion girl's dream (faux) wedding wardrobe. By then, she'll have a whole wedding party's worth of bridal trends ripe for the copying.
