On the red carpet, Jiwa also ensures each of her outfits includes a cultural touch to showcase her love for South Asian and Muslim fashion and identity.
Red carpet correspondent Zainab Jiwa has struck the perfect balance between fandom and high fashion at some of the biggest TV and film premieres.
While method dressing and cosplay aren't new concepts within fandoms, some of Hollywood's biggest stars have recently taken inspiration from their projects for elevated looks during press tours. See: Margot Robbie's pink looks during Barbie press, Zendaya's athleisure while promoting Challengers and Halle Bailey's mermaidcore outfits for The Little Mermaid.
Being invited to some of the biggest red carpet premieres, the 28-year-old creator and presenter has harnessed her passion for fandom and fashion to design outfits that look like she stepped right out of the movie or TV show.
"I've loved fashion since the womb," Jiwa tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview. Jiwa's identity as a South Asian and Muslim woman also greatly influences her fashion decisions, with her hijab often pulling all of her outfits together. "I see my identity as a Muslim woman who covers her hair and tries to dress modestly as a fun and exciting thing I can work my fashion around," she explains.
"I've always grown up thinking, 'Oh I'd love to wear that, but I cover up, so how can I change that so I can wear it,' " she points out. "I think that plays a really big part in all my fashion day to day, but also on the red carpet. It's a little challenge -- something really fun -- and it's a way for me to get creative as well."
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Jiwa first started merging her love of film, TV and fashion at 10 years old, recreating her favorite character's outfits from Doctor Who and the Marvel universe. "I didn't see people like me on the screen [at the time]," she recalls. "So I decided that I'm gonna put myself in that screen."
She earned her degree in fashion and creative directing in 2020 and started posting on TikTok during the COVID-19 pandemic when she was "forced to get creative" at home.
"I was posting outfits inspired by characters based on people's recommendations [online]," she continues. "People realized I'm just a fangirl at heart and was able to grow my audience of not only fangirls that look like me, but also outside of that -- which was refreshing. It was great to [connect with other] Muslims and South Asians [like me]. We watch films too, and [my audience] encouraged me to post more."
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Her TikTok videos eventually caught the attention of a major Hollywood studio, who extended her an invitation to interview a cast member from one of their projects. Recalling the moment, Jiwa says she remembers "[crying] my eyes out that day because I didn't think [that opportunity] was possible for me."
After her first opportunity, she was eventually invited to her first red carpet premiere for The Witcher season 2 in 2022' where she put together her own outfit. Though she admits at the time, she "did not know how to dress at a premiere."
"If you compare my outfits from [the season 2 and season 3 premiere] for The Witcher, I think you'll see the difference... I was not dressed well," she reflects. "It's just something you have to figure out yourself. No one teaches you, no one tells you, so my question [at the time] was 'Do I go on theme, or do I go just looking nice?' "
But that first red carpet taught her that "you don't have to pick" between looking nice and dressing on theme for an event. "You can do both... look nice and go on theme," she reiterates. So when she was invited back to The Witcher premiere for season 3 in 2023, Jiwa had more fun with her look.
"It was a lot more fun for me because I knew [the process by then]," she continues. "In my head, I was like 'Okay, The Witcher is a fantasy show. I wanted to do something with armor [like] Geralt -- the main character. He's got this white, long locks that are very specific to him.' Then I [decided] what I need to do without making it look too much like a costume."
The result? Jiwa showed up in a sustainable bottle can top corset designed and handmade by McKenna Marsden paired with a black taffeta skirt by UK South Asian designer Raishma and bangles for an additional cultural touch.
"South Asian fashion is impeccable," she adds. "One thing we do well is accessorize... and I take a lot of South Asian inspiration for all my accessories whether it's adding a pair of jhumka [earrings] or a dupatta [scarf]." Incorporating those cultural touches has become an essential part of Jiwa's process and was something that Jiwa personally struggled with up until 2020 when she started exploring her fashion online.
"Growing up South Asian, I never wanted to [embrace my roots openly]," Jiwa explains. "I was the type of person who would like look for lighter skin foundation, just to [blend in] and that's how I grew up. And it was such a shame. But it wasn't until I started to fall in love with jhumkas and learning that Simone Ashley picked her own jewelry for a lot of the costumes in [Bridgerton season 2]... that changed my life."
"I fell in love with my culture again," she continues. "Specifically the earrings made me comfortable enough to wear them out and about in the Western world. I think it's recognized now as a beautiful piece of our culture, but I think it was more about me accepting it. It's not like other people didn't, it took me to [realize] 'this is who I am.'"
As she was invited to larger scale events, she knew she had to "up her fashion game" and turned to designers to collaborate on her red carpet outfits. Jiwa explains that while designing her outfits is her "favorite bit," sometimes she will turn to a stylist or designer that she finds online who is willing to work with her, depending on the time frame she's given to prepare for an event.
One outfit Jiwa specifically notes is the all-pink outfit by Sabirah -- who are known for their modest luxury wear -- that she eyed for months before she was invited to host the London premiere of Wicked back in November 2024. "Sometimes it's working with designers that already have pieces that I'd love to wear [and other times] it's working with designers where we create something new and custom," she says.
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Jiwa specifically chooses to work with "new and upcoming" designers -- especially students and fresh graduates -- because "I was in that place when I was at Uni, and I know how important it is to get your work out there."
"It's also really nice to get kind of a fresh perspective and a new like new eyes on fashion," she says. "And think they have a lot of eye for creativity." Her avant-garde outfit for the House of the Dragon season 2 premiere in June 2024 stands out as one of her favorites and most creative, where she donned three faces on the skirt designed by Anzila Aftab.
"She mixed her culture and the idea that her hijab is not just a piece of fashion -- which is quite a contradictory thing that I have in my head all the time," Jiwa says. "So it's her mixing her identity and fashion in this gorgeous dress that speaks to me already, and it's on theme with the show."
Some of her other favorite outfits include a gold and black saree and headpiece for The Hunger Games: The Ballad Songbirds and Snakes premiere in November 2023 that also "mixed my culture, the theme and creativity," her Moroccan and Algerian kaftan for the Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premiere in 2024 and her all-white outfit by Muslim hijabi designer Ruaa Elmansuri at the Sky Awards in October 2024.
"She's a student and she made this incredible outfit that I've always wanted to wear," Jiwa gushes. "My thought was, 'I'm going to Sky Arts Awards. It's an Arts Award and I want to go as an open, empty canvas.' I felt amazing in it, and I just wanted to paint all over it -- obviously I won't."
Jiwa jokes that the particular outfit was "very much on brand" for her since she's either "dressed up 100 percent" or "in a blanket."
Jiwa and her incredible outfits have also caught the eye of some huge stars, from Denzel Washington, who told her she's "crazy in the best way," to her style icon Zendaya, who said she "appreciated" her fashion at the Challengers premiere in April 2024.
As the events Jiwa attends get grander in scale, she notes "the pressure is getting worse in a good way" for her to show up in something amazing.
"Sometimes I will announce I'm going to this event, and everyone's like, 'We cannot wait to see what you wear,' and I'm like 'Oh no,' " she says. "I'm like, 'I have five days to put together an outfit that eats for you, oh, my God,' but I love it. I love that pressure."
Despite all of the incredible opportunities to host and attend red-carpet events, Jiwa has her eyes set on attending the Met Gala one day. But her time at movie premieres is definitely not done as she prepares for the upcoming premieres of How to Train Your Dragon and Superman.
"It's just my way of celebrating a movie, which is why I dress in such a way," she says. "I like to get creative; and being celebrated by the people who have made the film is unreal to me. It's an absolute honor and it's so nice to be recognized for your artwork."