Tommy Hilfiger x Zendaya: First look at collection ahead of Paris Fashion Week

In October 2018, US fashion brand Tommy Hilfiger revealed that it would be launching a collaboration with actor and singer Zendaya.

The announcement has left fashion fans on tenterhooks ever since, with very little being given away about the collection. Until now that is.

On Tuesday, the designer duo finally unveiled a lookbook, giving fans a sneak peek at the line-up ahead of its runway debut at Paris Fashion Week in March.

Delivering a retro-inspired capsule collection of wardrobe staples, the designs include everything from zodiac-printed suits and high-waisted skirts to rainbow stripes and flared hem trousers in an autumn-ready colour palette of red, brown, gold and forest green.

Hilfiger and Zendaya say the collection is an ode to female empowerment, making specific reference to fashion muses from the golden era of the 1970s and 1980s including Diana Ross, Farrah Fawcett and Grace Jones.

Zendaya says she wanted to make the collection as inclusive as possible, pushing for each item to be available from US size 4 to 24 (UK size 8 to 28).

The pieces also pay homage to the 1973 “Battle of Versailles” fashion show – a charity event that pitted French designers (Yves Saint Laurent, Hubert de Givenchy, Pierre Cardin, Emanuel Ungaro, and Marc Bohan of Christian Dior) against their American counterparts (Oscar de la Renta, Bill Blass, Anne Klein, Halston, and Stephen Burrows).

The show made history after the American team of designers delivered a collection which featured a record number of black models for the time – 10 out of 36.

Speaking of the collaboration, Zendaya told Vogue: “The most important thing to me is that these clothes feel timeless, and whoever puts it on feels powerful and confident.”

The Greatest Showman star also said she learnt a lot about what it takes to create a garment during the design process.

“Even something as simple as a plain white tee takes so much more time, people and energy then you’d think, and every job is crucial,” she said.

Tommy Hilfiger’s collaboration with Zendaya follows a two-year partnership with supermodel Gigi Hadid, that delivered four collections and two big-budget fashion shows in Los Angeles and London.

Hailey Baldwin and Winnie Harlow also co-created pieces for the Tommy Icons show in Shanghai in 2018.

The Spring 2019 Tommy x Zendaya collaborative collection will premiere at the TOMMYNOW experiential runway event that will take place during Paris Fashion Week on 2 March.