In a new interview with Elle magazine, Zendaya addressed the rumors that she and her longtime stylist Law Roach—who dramatically announced this year that he was “100,000 percent...retiring from celebrity styling”—are on the outs.
Back in March, Roach said in a post publicizing his retirement, “The politics, the lies and false narratives finally got me. My Cup is empty….. thank you to everyone who’ve supported me and my career over the years. Every person that trusted me with their image, I’m so grateful for you all. If this business was just about the clothes I would do it for the rest of my life but unfortunately it’s not!”
In particular, a clip of Zendaya and Roach seemingly getting into a dispute over their seating arrangement at a fashion show went viral earlier this year; people speculated that the awkward interaction was proof of Roach’s dissatisfaction with their relationship.
“When it happened, I said, ‘Oh no, I hope people don’t try to create something from this,’” the Dune star told Elle about the clip. She explained that on the day of the Louis Vuitton show in question, she and Roach had gotten caught in traffic and were rushing to the front row. In the hustle, they were trying to find Roach’s assigned seat and Zendaya pointed to a seat in the row behind her. While many people took that as the actress suggesting that Roach sit there, she says she was actually pointing to her assistant’s seat.
“We’re so used to sitting together that he didn’t know where to go,” she elaborated. “But obviously, people want to assume the worst of the situation, which is not always easy to deal with and hurtful.”
Roach himself told Elle that he has not stopped working with Zendaya, and has instead assumed the role of her creative director, rather than her stylist.
“Our relationship is like family, so I don’t think I’m going anywhere,” Roach told the mag, “and even if I wanted to, she wouldn’t let me.”