What might be considered woo-woo in some cities is often commonplace in Los Angeles. People talk about “energy”; they openly assess whether the “vibes feel aligned.” A business meeting might begin with a reflective moment for intention-setting—or a meditation to help everyone “ground.”
But while none of these things are rare in LA, during a recent Friday-evening meeting at the loft-like headquarters of Walk Good—a nonprofit community wellness organization led by brother and sister Etienne and Ivy Coco Maurice—they suddenly feel anything but mundane. For one, a handful of marketing execs from the Swiss athletic brand On have just flown in for the occasion; and two, Zendaya is here, sitting cross-legged and shoeless on a plush white rug, her long waves swept into a casual bun, not a glimmer of makeup on her face.
It was a scene that could only be described as surreal—especially when Etienne starts the meeting by instructing us to sit in a circle, stick out our tongues, and sigh as loudly as we can. Even Zendaya seems a little surprised. “I really didn’t know what to expect,” she tells me afterward. “But what an icebreaker—I was filled with anxiety before I arrived.”
The anxiety, I find out later, is ongoing—and part of the reason we’re here. Officially, our agenda involves discussing the actor’s new multi-year partnership with On; they’ve planned an intimate brainstorming session with the duo from Walk Good (longtime partners of On), the three brand execs, and the actress herself. And while the Zendaya-On partnership is still in its infancy, it seems worth noting that, unlike so many other celeb-fashion collaborations, it happened organically. The actress was introduced to the brand by Challengers costume designer Jonathan Anderson and quickly became a fan, and she’s been wearing the shoes and clothing on the red carpet and elsewhere ever since. (In fact, it was Zendaya who initiated the partnership, not the brand.) So far, their nascent collab has yielded a just-released kickoff campaign film, called Dream Together, directed by choreographer C Prinz, and there’s been a flurry of creative meetings for the upcoming release of a capsule of Zendaya-designed items. Other than that, they’re still figuring it out. Social impact is a big part of On’s mission to “ignite the human spirit through movement,” so Walk Good is playing host in order to provide insight on how it all works. For Zendaya, both of those things are huge: She loves the nonprofit’s goal of helping Black and Brown people connect with their community through arts and health, and On’s already well-established social impact initiatives were a major part of the partnership’s appeal.
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