Law Roach on Zendaya’s 2015 Oscar Appearance Influences the CROWN Act

Zendaya has always been a trendsetter. Long before she became an award winner and fashion icon, she made sure to always bring something interesting to the red carpet. A pivotal moment in her fashion evolution was the 2015 Oscars, when the then 18-year-old “Euphoria” star sported curls, which was not common at the time.

There is a very specific official dress code for the Oscars. Unofficially, participants are expected to present a certain image and fit a certain mold. A black woman who wears braids definitely exceeds these expectations. During a recent discussion in Teen Vogue SummitZendaya’s longtime stylist and friend, Law Roachdetailed how powerful that moment was and how important the conversations it sparked were.

He recalled the “really terrible comments” made by a certain “TV personality,” referring to then-“Fashion Police” co-host Giuliana Rancic’s careless comments that the actress looked like “she likes patchouli oil or weed.” smell.”

Roach used the “Spider-Man” star’s decision to honor her father by wearing curls and the backlash over Rancic’s comments as examples of using fashion to influence politics and culture.

“Fashion has the ability to make political statements and I think that we should use fashion to express ourselves and what we agree with and disagree with about what’s going on in politics, because they are our voices that should make a difference,” he said. “This one case has actually changed the way black people’s hair is accepted in schools and the workplace. Although we did not set out to make this grand statement because of what happened, the Crown Act actually arose from that incident.”

That created in 2019 CROWN The Act (Creating a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair) has been passed in several states across the country. The legislation is intended to protect against discrimination when wearing natural hair in schools and the workplace.

The fashion group said that he and the “Challengers” actress didn’t expect the attention that came after Rancic’s comments, but that it led to a bigger moment.

“It was something we just did and didn’t know it was going to happen like that,” Roach said. “But we’re grateful for it because it really opened up a global conversation about what’s appropriate for Black people’s hair, especially Black women’s hair.”

At the time, Zendaya criticized Rancic’s “ignorant insults and pure disrespect,” adding, “To say that an 18-year-old girl with curly hair must smell like patchouli oil or ‘weed’ is not only a huge cliché, but also outrageously offensive.”

The former E! The news anchor called the situation a “learning experience” about the “harm” of stereotypes in her on-air apology. The singer/actress responded that she was “glad it was a learning experience for you and the network.”

While this very public situation between Zendaya and Rancic definitely showed how big the problem is, we can’t say if the CROWN Act was “born” from it. As with most progressive movements, it was several high-profile incidents, including this one, that led to change. However, we appreciate that Roach encourages its customers to make statements with their fashion, because we need these conversations to be sparked by bold game changers.