When Zendaya arrived at March 12's Essence Black Women in Hollywood event in a vintage Sex and the City pull, I had hope for her 2026 Oscars red carpet dress. The Dolby Theatre is just six miles north of Essence's venue, after all. But three days later, Zendaya was noticeably missing from the Academy Awards red carpet, just like the 2025 Oscars. All hope wasn't lost: Zendaya's stylist Law Roach said she "will be" at the 2026 Oscars in some way, shape, or form. At precisely 10:16 p.m. ET, she made a late-entry to the best-dressed list.
45 minutes before the ABC broadcast began, Z's longtime "image architect" talked to Extra on the red carpet. Roach served a look himself—in a black, lace-embellished tuxedo and a new haircut. Still, the question on every journalist's lips was, where's Zendaya?
