As Zendaya spins another ‘Spider-Man’ fashion story, has method dressing gone too far?

At the Los Angeles premiere of “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” on July 27, Zendaya arrived in an Ashi Studio fall 2026 gown with a plunging neckline framed by sculptural elements resembling a spider’s appendages. Three days later, she and longtime stylist Law Roach continued the narrative at the film’s London premiere with a cream Tamara Ralph couture gown traced with metallic, web-like lines.

The London look was finished with a diamond-encrusted gold spider brooch by couture jewelry designer Keren Wolf, placed at the base of Zendaya’s back. The piece was originally created to form part of a spiderweb headpiece designed by Shani Dvorkin with Wolf, before being reworked as an embellishment for the gown. Tom Holland joined in with an articulated spider brooch by British jeweler Pragnell, worn on the knot of his tie.

The appearances were the latest demonstration of the red-carpet strategy Zendaya and Roach have helped turn into an entertainment-marketing event of its own, from “Dune” to “The Odyssey”. Instead of treating each premiere as an isolated fashion moment, they build a visual world across photocalls, press events and carpets, giving fans another reference to identify and circulate with every appearance.

During the current “Spider-Man” tour, that has included a vintage Giorgio Armani dress covered in silver cobwebs at the film’s Rome premiere on June 23 and a $34.99 vintage Spider-Man T-shirt sourced on eBay for a Paris photocall two days later. The pair have simultaneously been promoting Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey,” shifting between literal spider references and contemporary interpretations of Greek dress.

But as increasingly recognizable references become a fixture of movie promotion, celebrity stylist Micaela Erlanger believes the most successful looks should not resemble costumes.

Erlanger, whose clients include Lupita Nyong’o, Meryl Streep, Ana de Armas and Anya Taylor-Joy, prefers the term “meta dressing”: using colors, silhouettes and more discreet cultural references to connect an actor’s wardrobe to a project without overwhelming the person wearing it.

“For me, it hasn’t always felt like it has to be that literal,” Erlanger said on the Glossy Podcast this week. “I like the idea of referencing a character, or referencing a film, a moment, a dialogue or a period in time, without it having to feel gimmicky or obvious.”

Erlanger used that approach while styling Nyong’o, who plays Helen of Troy, for “The Odyssey” press tour. At the film’s London premiere on July 6, Nyong’o wore a silver Christian Cowan gown with a relatively restrained silhouette from the front, but deep sculptural cutouts beneath the arms that revealed her figure from the side.

Rather than reaching for an overtly Grecian chiffon dress, Erlanger wanted the look to communicate Helen’s legendary beauty more indirectly.

“She’s playing Helen of Troy, the most beautiful woman in the world,” Erlanger said. “You don’t need a lot of clothing or a whole lot of look when it’s about who the woman wearing the dress is and how she stands on her own.”

Erlanger had limited information when she began working on the wardrobe. Nolan is known for keeping his films private, while Nyong’o initially disclosed little beyond the identity of her character. Erlanger instead drew from Homer’s poem, Greek mythology and her own interpretation of Helen.

For an earlier New York appearance, Nyong’o wore a custom Sally LaPointe look with ostrich feathers. The idea was developed by Erlanger and Nyong’o as a reference to the story that Helen was born after Zeus took the form of a swan.

“If you know, you know,” Erlanger said. “Lovers of the book and Greek mythology might be able to pick up on that.”

The outfit still worked independently for audiences unfamiliar with the reference, which is central to Erlanger’s distinction between meta dressing and simply recreating a film’s costume.

She applied the same thinking while styling Streep during the press tour for “The Devil Wears Prada 2.” At an April 12 event in Shanghai, Streep wore a cobalt-blue Saint Laurent military-inspired coat dress with oversized sunglasses, subtly recalling both Miranda Priestly and the original film’s famous cerulean monologue.

In the speech, Priestly describes cerulean military jackets supposedly shown by Yves Saint Laurent before the color filtered down through the fashion system. The collection described in the screenplay never actually existed, making Streep’s coat what Erlanger called “a reference within a reference.”

“If you were paying attention, you would pick up on these kinds of things,” she said.

Social media has made such details increasingly valuable. An obscure reference decoded by fans can become a viral post, generating attention for the actor, stylist, designer and film simultaneously.

It has also brought stylists themselves out from behind the scenes. Erlanger said their work now extends far beyond choosing attractive clothes, encompassing public-image management, brand exposure and the strategic positioning of clients.

“We are responsible for shaping the public image of some of the biggest names in entertainment,” she said. “There’s a whole business to all of it.”