With Zendaya one of the leaders of red-carpet method dressing when promoting her movie roles, the expectations for the "Dune: Part Two" press tour have been high.

After all, the first "Dune" film’s release brought with it a number of eye-catching, seemingly referential looks from the actor and her "image architect," Law Roach, despite its debut amid a more muted time for moviegoers in late 2021 thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic. Among them, Zendaya wore an exquisitely-draped Balmain gown that gave the illusion of being soaked through — quite the sartorial contrast for a film about a parched desert planet — as well as a sculptural off-white Rick Owens gown that blended futurism and classic glamour. Her co-star Timothée Chalamet played with his styling choices as well, appearing in a zippered Alexander McQueen suit that echoed the structured black uniform of his character Paul Atreides, the teenage heir to the one of the great houses in the film’s galactic empire.
Now for the second film, just about the entire cast is going full fantasy. On recent stops in Mexico City and Paris, Zendaya has turned heads in experimental looks with exaggerated silhouettes that seem to evoke the movie’s sci-fi worlds, including a chic take on a cropped desert cloak and high-slit skirt from Bottega Veneta’s Fall-Winter 2023 runway, and a physics-defying white spiral gown from Alaïa.

And on Thursday, at the world premiere of the film in London, she and Roach pulled out all the stops in an archival Thierry Mugler robotic suit (pictured above) from the fashion house’s Fall-Winter 1995 couture collection. (Next to her, Chalamet’s silver patchwork Haider Ackermann pants were a valiant effort, but no match.) Also kraken at the premiere, Florence Pugh opted for a glittering black hooded dress by Valentino, while Lea Seydoux and Rebecca Ferguson leaned into the spirit as well with regal, otherworldly looks from Louis Vuitton and Fendi respectively.

There’s more still: in a surprise appearance, Anya Taylor-Joy wore an ethereal white gown custom made by Dior, confirming a mystery role in the movie and leaving the internet to try and deduce from her mystical styling what part she’ll play.