Zendaya went outside in Switzerland, touched grass, and drank really fresh water and now we're ready to do the same. The actress’s latest endeavor is with popular Swiss athletic brand, On, and it’s all about movement. Founded in 2010 in the Swiss Alps, On is on a mission to ignite the human spirit through movement and there is no better person than the 28-year-old Euphoria star–who is always booked and busy, but somehow still manages to keep a solid personal life.
The new campaign follows Zendaya through the Swiss Alps wearing pieces from the brand’s Fall/Winter 24 Movement Collection. From movement to exploration, and human connection, their collaboration is all about being in the present moment. The campaign was shot in Vals, an idyllic mountain village, and was filmed and photographed by Camille Summers Valli.
“Collaborating with Zendaya on a campaign that pays homage to On’s birthplace was so fulfilling,” David Allemann, Co-Founder of On said in a press release. “It’s been incredible to expand on our partnership with a campaign that authentically showcases her own experience with movement and well-being.”
We caught up with Zendaya to talk all about her latest campaign with On, who’d she take with her to a dance class (spoiler: it’s not Tom Holland), and her advice for young people trying to find their style.
Zendaya: Oh, man. This one was special because Switzerland has been a serious, serious trip, top of my list. Been wanting to go there for ages. I think it's partially because I'm obsessed with Tina Turner. And I know she went there, and she lived there for a while. Every video I've ever seen was just picturesquely gorgeous. And it just happens perfectly that this new On family that I have is based in Switzerland. I was like, I cannot wait to visit the headquarters.
So, for this campaign, we did it out in the Vals, and it was gorgeous. It was so beautiful. I was like, I'm shooting in a postcard. And what's crazy about it is in the campaign photos, it almost looks like Photoshop, it looks fake. It is absolutely 1000% real. It is the backdrop. I was like, can I live here? And also my favorite part is just they have these fresh water fountains everywhere, straight from the mountains that you can fill up your water bottle with. And I just felt like, I don't know. I know that's stupid to be like, that's cool. I'm in America, but we don't have access to fresh drinking water, most people, unfortunately.
But it was nice to just be able to drink fresh water from a mountain. And it was so special and everybody was so welcoming. And the headquarters and On, they're gorgeous. Everybody's so nice. They have a canteen with vegan food and it was really, really cool.
Z: I think what I really liked was some of the color skews of this kind of collection. There's a bright, almost orangey-red color that appears a lot mixed with then there's a burgundy tone. Those just go so beautifully together. But what I enjoy is everything can be interplayed and intermixed with each other. And it's very versatile in that way. Everything works with each other because they're all just like these complementing colors and you don't have to think too much about what you're wearing. You just throw it on.
Z: I think for me it's important to know that movement or, quote-unquote, working out looks different for everyone. I find it very difficult to stay consistent with an active routine when I'm not working. When I'm working and I'm training to be a tennis player, obviously there's a schedule there and something is holding me accountable. But when it's just myself, it's more difficult to keep that going, even if I know it makes me feel better.
So I find that sometimes it's really stressful that it's like these little things that add up to making you feel better and contributing to your mental happiness and health.
Z: Thank you, I try.
Z: Well, I just think that sometimes it's just that thing of, you know what, today I'm going to put on an outfit. I'm going to put on that thing that I'm like, I'm going to save this for... It's like, girl, what are we saving it for? We're never going to wear it if we're saving. Put it on, do your hair, spruce it up. You know what I mean? Even if you feel slightly overdressed. I think sometimes it's just telling myself that I'm going to get ready today and I'm going to go outside to walk with my coffee. I think that can really contribute to my mood.
Z: To be honest, I don't know if it's an activity. I know some people really enjoy it… my mom, and I feel like everybody's mom, right now is super into pickleball. Pickleball, paddle tennis, she's obsessed. And I'm like love that for you guys but I haven't quite found that for me yet. Right now, I just really enjoy going for a walk. Going for a walk even if it's going to the park. If I'm by myself, I'll put my headphones in and I'll either listen to a podcast or I'll call my friend or my mom or something and just talk and walk. Or it's just me and my dog. Or it's me and my dog and my family, friends, my boyfriend, for me it’s going for a walk. It's not like a special activity or anything. But I find that it's really, really helpful.
Z: To be fair, I feel like I haven't been on a set in a long time. I've not been on since Dune, so that's almost like two years ago. And I'm about to start up again. I leave literally tomorrow to start a new thing. And while it's something that should feel like, yeah, whatever, this is my job, I'm doing this all the time, I always get a sense of nervousness. It's a new project. It's a new people that you're working with, a new vibe, a new little community. I don't know, it's exciting. And it's also very nerve-wracking. So it hasn't quite happened yet, but I feel that way every time I start a new project it's like, ‘okay, here we go.’ And I gotta shake the rust off a little bit.
Z: This is good. A hike? I would say my niece or my mom. My mom was a teacher, and she actually is the reason why I love the outdoors. She would take her students every year to outdoor science camp. She would raise the money every year because she was a teacher and she taught in Oakland. And that wasn't provided or accessible to her students. So she raised money every year to take them. And it was just the most fun experience of my life every year going up there. We would do hikes. That was part of the experience of it. And so yeah, I think I would go with my mom or my niece. And then I'd say dance class? I would say I'd bring Tom with me, but he's too good.
Z: He's too good, it would piss me off.
Z: I would want to take someone who could be equally as bad as me. You know who would be fun at it? Honestly, my little niece, who's eight. I would like to take a dance class with her. That would be fun. And then kayaking? Kayaking, I would choose Tom because I think that, if I can remember correctly, with the kayak, you have to be in sync with the person. And I think it would be hilarious because we are both very controlling and we both want to be in charge. So it would be funny to watch us be like, no, we're going to go this way. No, we're going to go that way. And I think it would be a good story after the fact.
Z: Well, I'd say fashion is such a personal thing. Style, it's such a personal thing. And it's also just, it's really to each their own. You have to find the things that make you happy and wear them. And if that means that you're someone who likes to have a uniform, wear the same thing every day, love it. Chic, is fantastic. My younger nieces and nephews probably get irritated with me because they want to wear what's cool, and what's trendy and I'm always trying to push them to just wear what they actually like, what makes them happy, not what their friends are wearing or whatever. I'm like, “But do you like it? What do you want to wear?” And help them to embrace their own personal style and figure that out.
I feel lucky that my parents never dressed me when I was a kid. I dressed myself. I was allowed to look like a hot ass mess for a while. I had pictures that I wish never existed on the internet. But you know what? I was figuring it out. It was trial and error. And I think now, I think it's so much easier to curate a look and a style that sometimes people don't get to go through the awkward phase of figuring it out. And I think it's really important to go through that, to be fair, to figure out what you like and what you don't like.
Z: Oh my God. It's like, what were we thinking? But you know what? It shapes who we are today.
