Zendaya's stylist Law Roach slams 'big 5' brands for past refusal; 'If you say no, it'll be no forever'

Law Roach made it known that their original reluctance will never be forgotten.

Law Roach, Zendaya’s longtime personal stylist, revealed on a recent episode of The Cutting Room Floor podcast with host Recho Omondi that prominent designer labels refused to work with her at the beginning of her career.

US fashion designer Law Roach (L) and US actress and singer Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman pose for a photocall at the Louis Vuitton Menswear Spring-Summer 2024. The pulse of Paris was set alight as Williams unveiled a debut fusing streetwear aesthetics into the French maison’s traditional lineage. The fashion show epitomized high-voltage energy, reverberating through the audience and culminating in a standing ovation for Williams. (AFP)

“I would write [to] Saint Laurent, Chanel, Gucci, Valentino, and Dior, and they would all say, ‘No, try again next year. She’s too green. She’s not on our calendar,’” Roach recalled. “I still have all the receipts. I still have everything.

Zendaya, to this day, hasn't worn the ‘Big 5’ on carpets except Valentino?

It wasn't until Zendaya rose to popularity, making her Met Gala debut at the age of 18 and receiving her first American Vogue cover two years later, that designers' attitudes towards clothing changed. Law made it known that their original reluctance will never be forgotten.

“By the time she got to American Vogue, she still had never worn any of those designers. She still hasn’t,” he pointed out, saying that the Dune star only began wearing Valentino in public after signing a huge contract with the brand in 2020.

When Omondi expressed his disbelief upon hearing this, Law added that, except for editorial shoots, Zendaya hasn't worn looks by any of those companies and won't anytime soon—all because they were so quick to turn her down in the first place.

“She still has never worn Dior on a carpet. She still has never worn Chanel on a carpet. She has still never worn Gucci on a carpet—no press, no appearance—never. Never,” he said. “The first time she wore Valentino in public was when she had a contract, so when I said, ‘If you say no, it’ll be a no forever,’ that rang true for a long, long time.”

Why are most of Zendaya's looks vintage?

Roach, who is known to produce archival looks for his clients, recently stated in a Vogue interview that he had to search through archives out of "necessity" when he and Zendaya first began working together because so few designers were willing to dress her.

“We’ve been [pulling vintage] since Zendaya and I began working together, for 13 years now. At first, it came out of necessity because back when we started, nobody would lend her clothes,” he told Vogue in February. “And I come from vintage—I had a vintage store in Chicago—so a lot of the things that she wore were things from my store or vintage pieces.”