There’s no denying Zendaya’s flair in pulling off vintage clothes on the red carpet, but the actress’s knack for nailing a new take on a classic reference isn’t too shabby, either. Tonight, Zendaya stepped out to the 2025 Golden Globe Awards in an elegant corset gown inspired by the late American singer and activist, Joyce Bryant.
Zendaya, who is up for the Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy award for her turn in Challengers, slipped into a custom tangerine look from Louis Vuitton. Zendaya leaned into the Old Hollywood flair of her dress, outfitted with a substantial bustle train at the back, by accessorizing it with matching pumps and blinding Bulgari jewelry. A coiffed bob in a deep auburn color was the perfect finishing touch.
As has become custom with many of Zendaya’s appearances, the actress’s long-time stylist Law Roach teased her outfit via Instagram stories well before she even hit the red carpet. Roach posted several images of Bryant, who went by the moniker “The Bronze Blond Bombshell” and was often referred to as the “Black Marilyn Monroe,” wearing this specific style of corset dress.
Zendaya’s dress in particular appears to be an homage to a Zelda Wynn Valdez dress Bryant wore on the cover of her 1954 album, Runnin’ Wild. Valdez, a Black designer helped redefine Bryant’s image (in some ways similar to the relationship between Law and Zendaya). Though she also dressed stars like Dorothy Dandridge, Gladys Knight, and Earth Kitt. She also designed the original Playboy bunny uniform.
Bryant, who passed away in 2022 at the age of 95, shot to stardom in the 1940s and ’50s where she quickly got to performing in famous venues like New York’s Copacabana and was one of the first Black singers to perform at the Casino Royal in Washington, D.C.. During a 1977 interview with the New York Times, Bryant recalled grappling with religion (her mother was a devout Seventh day Adventist) and her scanty stage wardrobe.
“It was a very sinful thing that I was doing—being very sexy with tight, low‐cut gowns,” she said at the time. “It was difficult for my family. I had a guilty conscience.”
