Why Zendaya almost didn’t wear metal Mugler suit to ‘Dune’ premiere: ‘Got really lightheaded’

This look was nearly too hot to handle.

Zendaya took a walk down memory lane during Vogue’s “Life in Looks” series on Tuesday, and the “Dune: Part Two” star admitted that she almost backed out of wearing Thierry Mugler’s iconic metal robot suit after she overheated in the futuristic look.

The full metal jumpsuit hails from the designer’s fall 1995 couture collection, and when thinking about her movie’s London premiere this winter, the “Spider-Man: Homecoming” actress, 27, said she ran the idea of wearing the suit past her longtime stylist, Law Roach.

Zendaya made headlines when she stepped out in the metal suit with racy clear panels. Samir Hussein/WireImage
The front of the outfit featured see-through bubbles at the chest, abs, thighs and arms. Getty Images
She bared her booty in the edgy look. Max Cisotti/Dave Benett/WireImage

“This suit, everybody knows it, and I was like, ‘I wonder if I could wear that?’” she told Vogue. “And so I sent it Law and I was like, ‘What if we wore this for the premiere?’”

The “Greatest Showman” star admitted that her stylist didn’t think she was serious about the ultra-rare piece at first, telling her, “don’t play with me” and cautioning that he didn’t want her to “chicken out at the last minute.”

Luckily, the suit-of-armor “fit like a glove,” with Zendaya sharing that she felt the outfit “was meant to be.”

However, “after wearing it for like, 10 minutes or less than that,” the former Disney star “got really lightheaded.”

Zendaya said she felt “lightheaded” after trying on the suit for 10 minutes. Getty Images for Warner Bros. Pictures
The actress wore plenty of other edgy looks during the “Dune: Part Two” press tour. AFP via Getty Images

“The metal conducts and holds onto heat very quickly and kind of traps heat in,” Zendaya explained, adding that she wore “a complete body suit” under the metal ‘fit so there was already “a barrier” keeping her warm.

“As the days were coming up, I was like, ‘this is a bad idea,’” the “Euphoria” star told Vogue. “Like, why did I do this?”

However, she pulled herself together and “did it,” making the red carpet look one of the most buzzed-about fashion moments of 2024.

She avoided overheating in the bionic suit by changing into a simple black Mugler dress after making a splash on the red carpet.


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Zendaya shared that her 2022 Emmys dress was her “first time wearing a real gown that was all black.” zendaya/Instagram
She discussed her viral 2014 top hat during the video. FilmMagic

Among the other looks she discussed was the black Valentino dress she wore to accept a 2022 lead actress Emmy for “Euphoria,” sharing that the chic ballgown was “a reference to an old Valentino dress” that featured a similar bow-trimmed top.

Zendaya also mused about her viral 2014 Teen Vogue Young Hollywood Party hat, sharing, “I still see memes about this particular look.”

At the end of the day, she doesn’t care about the haters, stating, “I stick by it. Me and Law, we thought it was chic at the time and I think it’s still chic. I’d wear it again!”