The Secret to Zendaya’s Monochromatic Oscars Look: Matching Her Valentino Gown to Jimmy Choo Heels

On April 25, 2021, at the 93rd Academy Awards held at Union Station in Los Angeles, Zendaya delivered a red-carpet moment that still resonates for its precision and restraint.

Wearing a custom neon yellow Valentino Haute Couture gown, she balanced bold cutouts and saturated color with a considered finishing touch: matching platform heels that quietly anchored the entire look.

Rather than competing with the drama of the dress, her footwear choice reinforced it—proof of Zendaya’s enduring styling principle that even the most theatrical fashion moments work best when grounded from the ground up.

Zendaya, in a yellow Valentino dress, attends the 93rd Annual Academy Awards at Union Station on April 25, 2021, in Los Angeles, California (Credit: Avalon / WENN)

Zendaya’s Bold Valentino Gown at the 2021 Academy Awards

The dress, designed by Pierpaolo Piccioli, featured a bold, floor-length silhouette with daring midriff cutouts, showcasing her abs and adding a modern edge to the look. Made from a lightweight, flowing fabric, the gown captured a vibrant, almost luminescent quality under the red carpet lights, perfectly aligning with Zendaya’s reputation for fearless fashion choices.

The neon yellow hue paid homage to springtime energy and was one of the night’s most memorable looks. Accessorizing with Bulgari diamonds valued at over $6 million, the K.C. Undercover star completed her look with Jimmy Choo shoes.

Zendaya’s neon yellow platform heels perfectly matched her Valentino gown, while her glossy nude pedicure added a polished touch to the bold red carpet look (Credit: Matt Sayles / A.M.P.A.S.)

Zendaya’s Perfectly Coordinated Jimmy Choo Heels

Specifically, she wore strappy Jimmy Choo platform sandals with an open-toe design and a sleek 4-inch (100mm) stiletto heel.

The heels were crafted in a vibrant yellow shade, perfectly mirroring the gown’s bold hue. This created a cohesive, monochromatic look that amplified the outfit’s striking effect.

Zendaya stuns at the 2021 Oscars in a neon yellow Valentino cutout gown, perfectly paired with matching Jimmy Choo platform heels for a bold, monochromatic look (Credit: Avalon / WENN)

Zendaya’s red-carpet and promotional wardrobe has repeatedly been anchored by Jimmy Choo footwear, reinforcing her reputation for shoe-led styling that balances drama with precision. At the 2018 Met Gala, she completed her Joan of Arc–inspired Atelier Versace armor gown with silver Jimmy Choo “Max” platform sandals, using height and metallic shine to modernize the historical reference.

Years later, she returned to the same silhouette at the 2024 Academy Awards, pairing a pink palm tree–embellished Armani Privè gown with gold Jimmy Choo platforms that echoed the look’s sculptural glamour.

Off the red carpet, her approach remains equally deliberate. During a Jimmy Kimmel Live appearance, she sharpened an all-black tailoring moment with glossy Christian Louboutin “So Kate” pumps, proving her footwear choices remain intentional even outside formal events.

The pattern was already evident in 2018, when she wore Jimmy Choo “Max” platforms to both the Oscars and the Vanity Fair after-party, underscoring a consistent styling philosophy: when the shoes are right, the look endures.

Zendaya’s Dazzling $6 Million Bulgari Jewelry

“When it was time to just try jewelry on, there was a piece that Zendaya was absolutely in love with, that we had saw at a little preview. We went to the store about a week ago, and so we saw it, and she said, ‘Oh my God, this is incredible. This could be the one,'” her stylist Law Roach told Elle about her ensemble.

Zendaya wore a yellow diamond tassel necklace and a total of 183.3 carats from Bulgari, valued at over $6 million (Credit: Avalon / WENN)

He added, “The inspiration was all about this jewelry. ” Law Roach later shared a video of her outfit on Instagram.

“We have a beautiful gown, but in the fitting, we had a whole gamut of these incredible, incredible pieces from Bulgari, and the jewelry just literally became the star of the show.”

Even though hidden beneath the flowing train of her Valentino gown, Zendaya’s Jimmy Choo heels added extra height, enhancing her statuesque red carpet presence (Credit: Matt Sayles / A.M.P.A.S.)

Zendaya’s Enduring Shoe-First Style Philosophy

From red-carpet premieres to off-duty appearances, Zendaya’s fashion choices consistently return to one guiding principle: when the footwear is right, the entire look holds.

Whether she’s anchoring couture with sculptural platforms or sharpening tailored silhouettes with classic pumps, her approach remains deliberate, confident, and remarkably consistent—making her shoe moments as instructive as they are memorable.