Zendaya’s stylist carried 40 pairs of this shoe for the ‘Challengers’ tour

On May 2, stylist Law Roach took to his Instagram stories to post a sneak peek of the Challengers press tour wardrobe. “2 pairs of shoes that @therealtashiduncan never got a chance to wear...” he wrote. One was a Chanel ankle-wrap style embellished with a miniature tennis ball and green net from the early ‘00s, while the other was a custom 16Arlington pump adorned with translucent paillettes, a version of which was also seen in the brand’s Spring/Summer 2024 collection. Why didn’t the movie‘s star, Zendaya, wear them? It’s probably because she was wearing Christian Louboutin’s So Kate pumps all along.

Since March, Zendaya has worn the red-bottomed white stiletto pumps on repeat. She not only wore them for the official Challengers promotional shoot, but also throughout the movie’s press tour (with the exception of one bedazzled pair, a tennis-ball adorned Loewe heel, and a strappy silver Louis Vuitton). She wore them with a checkered Marc Jacobs era Louis Vuitton look, a custom white Calvin Klein blazer and skirt, a vintage Vivienne Westwood vest and micro-mini skirt set with a bunny tail, a custom Thom Browne dress, a white vintage Ralph Lauren minidress, and more.  

The So Kates, which feature a towering 120mm razor-sharp heel, are not easy to walk in, but have become a staple in the 27-year-old’s wardrobe. Named after the British supermodel Kate Moss, the iconic pair was first released in 2012. “Kate is a sharp style, simple, and very complex at the same time...It sounded so much like Kate, simple yet very sophisticated. I felt this pump just had to be named after her, because it was soooooo Kate,” says designer Christian Louboutin of the shoe and his friend and muse.

But Zendaya’s love affair with the aforementioned pump began long before her latest press tour, as early as her Disney star days. “I think that the So Kate is one of the most versatile shoes and it’s also one of the most painful. It actually started when she was like 14,” Roach recently told designer and journalist Recho Omondi on The Cutting Room Floor podcast. “I was like, ‘You will not take these shoes off.’ She kept them on, and the next day, she put them on again...Now, her feet are kind of, like, trained. She could wear them all day,” he said. 

You would think she’s a Louboutin ambassador cashing cheques, but Roach revealed there’s no sponsorship deal with the shoemaker. However, they do share a mutually beneficial relationship given he pulled about 40 pairs of the So Kates for the press tour.

And it’s not just Zendaya wearing these shoes. Several stars including Blake Lively, Gigi Hadid, JLo, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, and Janhvi Kapoor have been seen sporting the iconic shoe on various occasions.

If you’re looking for a similar style but can’t bear to walk in 120mm heels, the shoe’s newest iteration—the Sporty Kate—is poised at a bearable 85mm and is much easier to walk in.

Whether you’re team flats or heels, there’s no denying how good Zendaya looks in these shoes. Chances are, you will too.