Zendaya is gearing up for her Met Gala return

After taking a five-year hiatus, Zendaya is returning to the 2024 Met Gala as a co-chair.

May is just around the corner, which for fashion enthusiasts, means the Met Gala is fast approaching. As stars prepare for what most consider the biggest night in fashion, some are admitting to some pre-gala jitters. 

During an appearance on “Live with Kelly and Mark,” Zendaya opened up about how exciting, nerve-wracking and “terrifying” it can feel to attend the Met Gala. 

“Going up the steps is very daunting, and I haven’t been back for maybe four or five years,” she said, referring to the last time she attended the event in 2019. “So this is my first time back at the Met in quite a while.”

In 2015, the “Challengers” star made her Met Gala debut at just 18 years old. From there, she became a somewhat regular attendee of the event, gradually building a name for herself in the fashion world. In 2019, Zendaya became the belle of the ball when she stepped onto the carpet in a Cinderella-inspired gown. Now, five years later, the 27-year-old actress is returning to the iconic Met Gala red carpet as not only an attendee but a celebrity co-chair.

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“[Being asked to host felt] very special, obviously an honor. But it felt like the right time to try to go back to the Met,” Zendaya told E! News, explaining how fellow castmates and “Challengers” costume designers would also be in attendance.

Though she admits that preparing for the 2024 Met Gala feels similar to preparing for her first Met Gala, Zendaya and her stylist of 13 years, Law Roach, have found enjoyment in the process. 

“It’s fun in the sense that I like to look at fashion as creativity,” she explained. “Even in press tours, it’s a way to continue the creativity from the film…I like to just create characters, because…sometimes, doing this for a living feels a little weird and awkward and I’m more of a shy, introverted person, so I get to create these characters… You get to embody this character for a day and clothes can do that for you.”

Creativity and storytelling lie at the heart of the Met Gala. This year, the gala will honor the Costume Institute’s spring exhibition, “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion,” with guests following the dress code “The Garden of Time,” inspired by a short story by J.G. Ballard. Despite the assigned dress code, the red carpet is always a mystery as attendees’ style choices reflect their interpretations of the theme. 

This year, all eyes are on Zendaya as everyone awaits to see her and Roach’s sartorial interpretation of the theme. Although the image architect told Complex that “there are no spoilers because we don’t have a dress yet,” there is no doubt that the duo will weave storytelling into her 2024 Met Gala look. 

“I’m the big idea and she’s the small detail,” Roach told Vogue. “[Zendaya] takes my big dreams and she grounds them and she makes them real.”

“It’s really important for us to always tell stories with our work,” he added.

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