Zoe Saldaña wore a draped black Balmain gown to the New York premiere of the third season of Lioness, adding to a run of red-carpet appearances that have repeatedly returned to the same colour.
The Balmain design featured long sleeves, a plunging neckline and a front slit. Saldaña paired it with sheer stockings and black shoes, keeping the entire look in a single chromatic line.
Months earlier, she had chosen black again for the 2026 Oscars, that time in a Saint Laurent slip-style dress with a semi-sheer floral lace bodice and a softly falling long skirt. A Cartier diamond and ruby necklace supplied the main point of colour.
The same approach marked her promotion of Avatar: The Way of Water in 2022, when she appeared in a black Schiaparelli velvet dress at the US premiere and in an Alexander McQueen tulle and embellished design in London.
Across those appearances the colour stayed constant while the fabrics and finishes shifted, moving between velvet, lace, tulle and draping. The looks suggest a strategy of holding to a classic base and letting texture and accessories carry the variation.
