Zendaya Reveals She Almost Didn’t Wear Her Mugler Armor Suit

Other standouts include her first Met Gala in 2015 (and accompanying nerves!), her first Vogue cover at age 20, and the wet-look Balmain gown she wore to promote Dune part one, which she said reminded her a bit of the infamous Dune stillsuit.

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As for that instantly viral and iconic silver archival Mugler suit, which she wore to a Dune: Part Two premiere, Z actually sent it to Roach for a potential premiere look. “He was like, ‘Are you being serious? Don’t play with me! Don’t get me started on something and make me do this, and you’re going to chicken out at the last minute.'” But she was up for the challenge!

Mike Marsland

According to Zendaya, one of the men who made the original outfit was there for the fitting, and though he warned that it might not fit, given it was custom-made with specific hinges, it ended up fitting her perfectly. However, she almost ditched it at the last minute. “Immediately after wearing it for like 10 minutes, I got really lightheaded. The metal conducts and holds onto heat.”

Z added that she was wearing a bodysuit underneath, so it was already pretty warm in there. Despite the discomfort, she made it work — and created one of her most iconic looks ever. “As the days were coming up, I was like, ‘This is a bad idea. But I put it on, I went out there, and I did it!”

Watch the full video below: