There’s no one doing it like Zendaya. Today, the actress—who has been on quite the hot streak with her string of Dune: Part Two press looks—shut down the sand carpet of the film’s world premiere in London with a jaw-dropping ensemble. No, this wasn’t off-the-runway Alaïa or pre-runway Roksanda, but rather an archival cyborg suit from Thierry Mugler’s fall/winter 1995 couture collection.
The actress has been sticking to mainly earth tones with her press fashion up until this point, but her vintage Mugler number was a full metallic armor set with silver panels and sheer plexiglass inserts. The suit featured corset-style details that hugged the actress’s figure as well as built-in gloves and silver heels to match. More cyborg priestess than sand princess, but still extremely Dune.
Mugler has designed similar custom pieces for stars in the past, but Zendaya’s outfit just so happened to be the exact look that graced the brand’s Parisian runway more than two decades ago. It’s quite a feat to obtain pieces from the Mugler archives, and even more of a feat to access this particular look which, seemingly, hasn’t been worn since it came down the ’90s catwalk.
The runway version featured a matching headpiece which Zendaya decided to forgo in place of a sleek hairstyle and a blinding blue diamond necklace from Bulgari.
This particular catsuit is known as the “Machinenmensch,” or Machine Human, and was designed over the course of six months in tandem with longtime Mugler collaborator and artist, Jean-Jacques Urcun. The pair were inspired by the fictional character Futura from Thea von Harbou’s dystopian novel Metropolis.
The back had just as much, if not more, going on as the front.
Later on, the actress switched into something perhaps a touch more practical to navigate: a black, curve-hugging Mugler gown that she topped off with vintage Bulgari jewels.
Dune: Part Two officially hits theaters at the beginning of March and it looks as though Zendaya, with a helping hand from stylist Law Roach, has already staked claim to one of the best press tour wardrobes in recent memory. She’s proven herself to be just as comfortable in galactic gowns and she is in pared-back tailoring and, yes, even an archival cyborg suit.
In the coming months, the actress will gear up to promote her upcoming film Challengers and will serve as a co-chair at the Met Gala. There’s definitely going to be some major fashion from Zendaya in the coming weeks, but truly, we’re not quite sure how she could possibly top this moment.