Breaking Down Zendaya’s Wedding Dress Look In ‘The Drama’

For many brides, finding the perfect dress is the most nerve-wracking part of the entire wedding. But for Katina Danabassis, the acclaimed costume designer behind A24’s buzzy new romance “The Drama,” the process was anything but stressful. When tasked with dressing bride-to-be Emma (Zendaya), Danabassis found herself in a truly unique predicament. “[Zendaya] looks good in literally everything,” Danabassis says. The duo has collaborated on previous projects like “Euphoria,” with Danabassis going as far as to characterize the actress as “possibly the easiest person to dress.” Accordingly, the fittings for the bridal look for Zendaya’s character Emma were focused on what the dress conveyed about the character and how it would move on camera.

Although it doesn’t appear until the film’s dramatic climax, Danabassis began the search for the wedding dress on “day zero” of shooting. With the knowledge that multiples would be required for the film’s action-heavy third act, she honed in on a silhouette early to ensure enough time for four identical versions of the dress to be produced.

Out of 8 to 9 contenders, the dress that wound up in the film was a traditional bridal gown by Jenny Yoo, paired with a double-layered tulle veil. Before she landed on it, it was one of the archetypal dresses Danabassis knew she needed to “absolutely make sure we had in the room for the fitting” on account of its classic silhouette. Danabassis was drawn towards a “big skirt to get dirty” that could simultaneously read as “understated” in keeping with the character’s baseline style. “We ended up landing on sort of the most cliché, on-the-nose type of wedding dress,” Danabassis says, describing how the volume of the dress’s taffeta skirt gives “the quickest read” of a “classic, timeless wedding look.” 

The made-to-order Lawrence dress by Jenny Yoo—modestly priced at $1475—incorporates all of the classic bridal elements, including a square scoop neckline, a low back, and a full A-line circle skirt crafted from pearly white taffeta. Simultaneously subtle, distinctly modern details set the design apart: a structured, bonded bodice, soft pleating at the back of the skirt, and delicate piping at the waist. Illusion panels on the sides of the bodice create the effect of a lowered armscye, adding a modern edge to the timeless silhouette. 

“Dressing is a performance,” Danabassis says. “Even if you don't like fashion, there's still a communication happening about how you view style.” For Emma, who is seen throughout the majority of the film wearing sweatpants and solid-color t-shirts, “style as communication” means saying very little. Danabassis translated the character’s affinity toward largely forgettable clothing choices by leaning into the most clichéd wedding iconography for her wedding dress. (The final gown was chosen, in part, to resemble a “wedding cake topper.”) While honoring the character’s approach to “simple” and “safe” dressing, Danabassis had to ensure that the look would still register as visually “big” on screen. “She’s not Carrie Bradshaw from ‘Sex and the City,’” Danabassis says. “After reading the script, my inclination would've been for someone like her to have something a little more understated, but because we're making a movie, you just kind of have to go for the bigger look as it's aspirational.”