Zendaya has always been a trendsetter. Long before she became an award winner and fashion icon, she made sure she consistently brought something interesting to red carpets. A pivotal moment in her fashion evolution came at the 2015 Academy Awards, when the then 18-year-old “Euphoria” star wore locs, something that wasn’t done at the time.
The Oscars have a very specific official dress code. Unofficially, attendees are expected to present a certain image and fit into a particular mold. A Black woman wearing braids definitely steps outside those expectations. During a recent discussion at the Teen Vogue Summit, Zendaya’s longtime stylist and friend, Law Roach, detailed how impactful that moment was and how important the conversations it inspired were.
He recalled the “really awful comments” from a certain “TV personality,” referring to then “Fashion Police” co-host Giuliana Rancic’s careless remarks that the actress looked as though “she smells like patchouli oil or weed.”
Roach used the “Spider-Man” star’s choice to honor her father by wearing locs, and the backlash to Rancic’s comments as examples of how to use fashion to influence politics and culture.
“Fashion has the ability to make political statements, and I think that we should use fashion to express ourselves and what we agree with and what we disagree with, what’s going on in politics, because it’s our voices that should make a difference,” he said. “That one instance went on to actually change the way Black people’s hair was accepted in schools and the workplace. So although we did not set out to make this big statement, because of the events that happened, The Crown Act was actually birthed from that incident.”
Created in 2019, the CROWN (Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair) Act, has been passed in multiple states across the country. The legislation is meant to protect against discrimination for wearing natural hair in schools and workplaces.
The fashion powerhouse explained that he and the “Challengers” actress didn’t expect the attention that came after Rancic’s comments, but it led to a bigger moment.
“It was something that we were just doing and didn’t know that it would happen that way,” Roach said. “But we are grateful that it did because it really created a global conversation of what’s appropriate for Black people’s hair, especially Black women.”
At the time, Zendaya called out Rancic’s “ignorant slurs and pure disrespect,” adding, “To say that an 18 year old young woman with locs must smell of patchouli oil or ‘weed’ is not only a large stereotype but outrageously offensive.”
The former E! News personality called the situation a “learning experience” about the “damage” of stereotypes in her on-air apology. The singer/actress replied saying she was “glad it was a learning experience for you and for the network.”
While this very public situation between Zendaya and Rancic definitely highlighted how big the issue is, we can’t say if it “birthed” the CROWN Act. Like most movements toward progress, it was several highly publicized incidents, including this one, that led to change. However, we do appreciate that Roach encourages his clients to make statements with their fashion, as we need these conversations to be sparked by bold game-changers.