Zendaya Just Made Activewear Look A Little More Dangerous

I didn't know my workout clothes needed a snakeskin moment, but Zendaya has apparently decided they do.

For the second chapter of her collaboration with On, Zendaya and Law Roach have taken everyday sportswear somewhere considerably more dramatic, mixing technical fabrics and relaxed silhouettes with python prints, body-hugging pieces and a brand-new shoe that looks like it wandered into the gym from a completely different wardrobe.

The result feels less like traditional activewear and more like what happens when sportswear gets invited to a fashion party.

Snakeskin Has Entered the Gym

The standout is easily the python print.

It's splashed across a fitted bodysuit, a long-sleeve top and a half-zip anorak, turning pieces that could have been extremely sensible into something with considerably more attitude.

And I love the idea of taking one of fashion's most unapologetically flashy prints and putting it on clothes designed to move.

Suddenly your gym outfit has a little bit of villain energy.

Law Roach Does Not Believe in Boring Basics

The rest of the collection plays with proportion rather than simply covering everything in logos.

Oversized crewnecks and sweatpants come with functional ruching and adjustable bungee cords, giving otherwise familiar pieces some shape and movement.

That is where the Zendaya and Law Roach influence really comes through. The clothes still have to work, but they also have to have a point of view.

As Roach put it, the collaboration is about bringing their personality and love of print into technical fabrics.

Then They Turned a Running Shoe Into a Mary Jane

The real curveball is the Cloudnova Moon.

On and the duo have created a low-profile silhouette with a Mary Jane-style strap, engineered knit upper and speed-lacing details. On's current product description calls it a ballet-inspired everyday shoe, with CloudTec cushioning concentrated in the heel and a sculpted sockliner for comfort.

That combination is kind of brilliant because it takes the visual language of a delicate ballet flat and drops it onto the foundation of a technical sneaker.

It looks like it belongs with a skirt.

It also looks like you could actually walk around in it all day.

Sportswear Is Getting Much More Fashion-Brained

This is the part of the collaboration I find most interesting.

Activewear used to have a very specific visual vocabulary: leggings, performance tops, running shoes, repeat. Now fashion brands and designers are constantly messing with those codes, making athletic pieces oversized, sculptural, printed, delicate or downright weird.

The Cloudnova Moon fits neatly into that shift. On still brings the technical construction, but the shape is closer to something you'd expect to see styled with an everyday outfit than a traditional training uniform.

Even On's wider Cloudnova range now frames the line around everyday wear and comfort rather than treating it exclusively as performance footwear.

Zendaya's Version of “Gym Clothes” Is Clearly More Fun

The accompanying campaign pushes the idea even further.

Directed by Pantera, the short film puts Zendaya through choreographed sequences that make the clothing look fast, physical and slightly cinematic, while Cass Bird's campaign images lean into her movement and attitude.

It makes sense that the clothes were built around movement. But instead of making movement look purely functional, the collection turns it into part of the fantasy.

You can sweat in it.

You can pose in it.

You can absolutely wear the snakeskin top somewhere that has nothing to do with a treadmill.

I'm Taking the Snake Print to Pilates

The second Zendaya x On collection is basically an argument for making activewear a little less obedient.

Keep the technical fabrics. Keep the comfort. Keep the clothes moving with you.

Just give them a print, a strange proportion or a shoe that looks like a Mary Jane decided to become a sneaker.

I think my imaginary workout wardrobe just got significantly more interesting.