Zendaya Flaunts Vintage Versace While Receiving the ‘Star of the Year’ Award at CinemaCon

Accepting the “Star of the Year” award at CinemaCon on Thursday night, Zendaya—by now one of the most dependable dressers in Hollywood—looked nothing short of golden. In a vintage leather-and-lace Versace gown (assembled, of course, by her “forever” stylist Law Roach), the Euphoria and Spider-Man actress not only echoed her camel-colored looks of yesteryear, but the earliest days of her theater-going experience.

“Literally my first date was when I was 15 years old, and it was to go see [The Amazing] Spider-Man in 3D,” she told the audience at the Omnia Nightclub at Caesars Palace during the annual convention. “Now I consider myself honored to be able to buy a ticket and sneak into the back of one of your theaters, which I’ve done many times before, and watch my own.”

“I love what I do,” she said. “I love what I do so, so much. I’m so grateful for all of you because without all of you, what I do wouldn’t have a home or place to go.” She continued, “I think my gift is storytelling. That’s what I love to do, and it means nothing if those stories don’t get to the people they need to get to.”

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Her next storytelling ventures include the tennis film Challengers and the follow-up to 2021’s hit sci-fi adaptation Dune, in which she plays warrior Chani to Timothée Chalamet’s princely Paul Atreides.

In a first-look interview for Vanity Fair, Zendaya revealed Dune: Part Two will center on Chani and Paul’s romance, though flirtation between the actress and Chalamet wasn’t exactly natural. “It was funny trying to figure out in this futuristic space talk, like, how do they flirt?” she said. “What does that look like for a space warrior and the young duke of a planet? How do they show that they like each other? What does that even sound like? We were definitely trying to navigate that, which was funny because all of us were stumped. I think it’s just as foreign to us as it probably is to the characters.”

Her Versace CinemaCon dress, from the house’s fall 2001 collection, is one she’d “been waiting to wear,” she revealed on Instagram. She went on to thank CinemaCon for “a beautiful honor,” teasing, “such a special year ahead. ❤️ ”

Culture Writer

Lauren Puckett-Pope is a staff culture writer at ELLE, where she primarily covers film, television and books. She was previously an associate editor at ELLE.