Zendaya Pays Tribute to Beyonce With Iconic Versace Gown at the BET Awards

Zendaya attended the BET Awards on Sunday night, appearing at the annual ceremony in a Versace dress that paid homage to one of Beyoncé‘s most memorable moments at the same awards show 18 years prior. Zendaya arrived at the show wearing a lengthened version of the dress Beyoncé wore in 2003, a dark purple chiffon number with a plunging neckline and lime green accents on the straps.

She accessorized with custom-dyed Stuart Weitzman Nudist sandals, Bulgari yellow diamonds and a low ponytail. Beyoncé originally wore the dress when she made her debut solo BET Awards performance, singing her hit “Crazy in Love” with then-boyfriend and now-husband JAY-Z. She was 22 at the time and the performance took place on the same day as the release of her album Dangerously in Love. Her Destiny’s Child bandmates, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, were both in the audience to support her.

Zendaya’s 2021look was curated by the actress’ longtime stylist, Law Roach, who posted a slo-mo video of Zendaya in the dress set to “Crazy in Love” with the caption, “Paying homage to the Queen Beyoncé wearing @versace SS2003 ….. get you a stylist with a ARCHIVE!!!!”

“It’s such a collaborative process, but I always get what I want in the end,” Roach joked to BAZAAR.com in April of working with Zendaya. “The stylist knows best! But no, I think Zendaya and I, our relationship is just filled with so much trust. It depends on how much or how little she inserts it in each situation. I like to joke and think that I’m the boss, but she’s really the boss. She trusts me to bring her the things that I think are the best and that really suits her and really speaks to who she is as this fashion phenom.”

Zendaya and Roach will likely have a number of upcoming looks to work on together ahead of the premiere of Zendaya’s upcoming animated film Space Jam: A New Legacy, in which Zendaya voices the role of Lola Bunny. The animated character has been reworked for the new film, with director Malcolm D. Lee telling Entertainment Weekly that Lola will “reflect the authenticity of strong, capable female characters.”

“We reworked a lot of things, not only her look, like making sure she had an appropriate length on her shorts and was feminine without being objectified, but gave her a real voice,” explained Lee. “For us, it was, let’s ground her athletic prowess, her leadership skills, and make her as full a character as the others.”