The Color Theory of Zola's Costumes Designed by Derica Cole Washington

Original Article for Style & Lead | August 20, 2021

It’s 2015. Drake’s “Hotline Bling” is repeatedly being played on the radio, FOX’s “Empire” is the number one show everyone is watching, and A’Ziah “Zola” King’s stripper-gate tale is the number one trending topic on Twitter. If for some reason you have never heard of this story, Zola details (in a very lengthy infamous Twitter thread) of her adventure meeting with “Stefani”. Stefani and Zola meet at her job at Hooters, bonding over pole dancing, then go on doing a 48 hour road trip to Tampa, Florida where everything hits the fan. Who would've thought on that fateful night in 2015 that a virtual Twitter thread would become the movie of the summer in 2021.

Just like the original Twitter thread, the film takes you through an endless loop of suspense, danger, seduction, and iconic storytelling that will forever live on in our minds. When watching the film, you can definitely tell the goal from director Janicza Bravo was to create an eye-catching film, which I believe was achieved. Not only was the storytelling completely epic but the acting was superb, thanks to Taylour Paige who plays ‘Zola’ and Riley Keough who plays ‘Stefani’. The fashion was absolutely addicting and will definitely be on many people's style inspiration boards.

Costume designer Derica Cole Washington (BET’s “Twenties”, Netflix’s “Insatiable” and feature film “Boy Genius ”) showcased the ever- revolving door on fashion trends from 2015 to now. That was not the only impressive thing achieved within the wardrobe. Washington was also able to tell a story within a story through the visual language of fashion.

In the first scenes of the film, the wardrobe worn by the cast was bright in color, light in fabric, and ultimately gave us good vibes. The matching dresses Zola and Stefani wear after meeting show their budding bond and friendship. Though the colors and style of the costume are different, as Zola wears a neon cowl neck and Stefani wears blue lace, the matching aesthetics of their costumes show that despite having two different personalities, they come from the same place. This common ground is what bonds them.

PINK

In the middle acts of the film, Zola is repeatedly consistently wearing the same costume, but Stefani is seen in a variety of looks. This could be a sign that Stefani is portraying many different personalities. For example, when arriving in Tampa, Florida, Stefani wears a baby pink cropped cardigan, pink high-waisted pants, and pink accessories to match. Pastel pink represents youth, playfulness, and innocence. So it makes sense when Stefani is telling her side of the story in the film, she is wearing a white blazer and powder pink dress. This could be used to try to convince Zola and the audience of her innocence, even when her actions speak otherwise.

BLUE

As a balance to Stephani, Zola consistently wears a blue gingham outfit paired with red Cortez Nike sneakers. Washington's approach to this look began with being an ode to the blue dress and red shoes worn by “Dorothy” in The Wizard of Oz. The color blue represents trustworthiness and calmness. Blue also signals a range of emotions from melancholy to moody, cool to indifferent. Zola reflected all of these feelings.

RED

Speaking of The Wizard of Oz, throughout the film, Zola is determined to go back home, just as Dorothy is determined to return to Kansas. Similar to Dorthy’s ruby red slippers, Zola finds comfort in her signature cranberry swoop Cortez Nike shoes. Through this repeated signal, Washington tells the audience at her core, Zola will overcome the dangerous turns of this adventure to return home safely.

The color red perfectly represents the themes of this film which are lust, sex and urgency, which may be the reason why the color is continuously seen in the film. The tone is set when Zola and Stefani first meet. Zola is wearing a fringe Western style button up top. Guess what the color of the top Zola is wearing was? That’s right, it was red. Instead of representing the personality of Zola herself, the crimson suede foreshadows the danger of her upcoming chaotic journey.

Red is also worn by “X”, played by Colemen Domingo, who is Stefani’s roommate and pimp. In the second act of the film, X is seen wearing a pink blazer and a red printed top. Even though he is still trying to convince Zola and the audience he is a nice guy by covering his rage and anger, eventually all is revealed.

GREEN

It’s not until the end of the film when Stefani wears green that her true colors are shown. Washington’s choice of neon reptile print in a tube-top set perfectly demonstrates Stephani’s inner character -- a snake. While green represents renewal, growth, and energy, in a sinister shade of oozing neon it represents greed, jealousy, and envy.

We also see Zola in a lime green swimsuit which is almost identical to the color Stefani is seen in the last act. A theory that may be proposed is that this is a slight reminder that both Stefani and Zola are still bonded in this experience and are two different sides of the same coin.

BROWN

In the last act, Zola is seen in a glittery golden brown tube top and biker shorts set with her red Nike Cortez sneakers. It is the darkest color that is worn by Zola in the film but it also shows that all that glitter is not gold. This portion of the film is the climax of the story and when Zola goes through traumatic experiences and is constantly trying to find a way out. While brown can represent a sense of strength and reliability which is shown by Zola throughout the film it can also represent loneliness, sadness and isolation.

“Zola” is a cautionary tale for Millennials and the Gen Z generation. It shows us the essential signs of how to spot a bad friend, gives us good reasons to never take a ride with a stranger, and to never take a random road trip to Tampa, no matter how fun they promise it may be. Even with all the chaotic twists and turns, the film will go down as an instant cult classic with goal worthy fashion, exciting action, amazing acting and of course iconic storytelling that has had us glued to our phones since 2015.