Zendaya's white Jacquemus gown at The Odyssey's London photocall arrived with a 3,000-year-old twist, courtesy of a pair of ancient gold medallion earrings. The Odyssey actress has been turning press tour dressing into full mythology mode, playing Athena in Christopher Nolan's fantasy epic. Longtime stylist Law Roach has been pulling every trick from the archive book for this particular tour. The London photocall, though, took things to an entirely different historical timeline.

While the gown brought the goddess' energy, the real story was hanging from her ears, and it stretched back further than anyone expected.

The earrings Zendaya wore at The Odyssey's London photocall were not costume pieces; they were genuine 18-karat gold and diamond artifacts dating back 3,000 years to the first millennium BC. Designed by Glenn Spiro and owned by London jeweler Barron London, the medallions come straight from ancient history rather than a modern atelier. Barron London confirmed the origin on Instagram, noting how rare it is to see a museum-grade antiquity styled for a red carpet. The detail turned a simple photocall into an accidental archaeology lesson.

Archaeologist Annelise Baer added an unexpected layer to the story in a July 10 Instagram video, explaining that the medallions likely were not earrings at all when first made. She said the ancient pieces were probably worn as decorative ornaments, similar to other sunburst designs common in that era of Iranian craftsmanship. Since Barron London had already confirmed the origin on Instagram, Zendaya's Jacquemus gown, a white column silhouette with a draped headscarf, only added to the temple-ready aesthetic. Every element of the look, from fabric to jewelry, pointed toward the same goddess narrative.  

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The earrings were only the beginning, since Zendaya and Law Roach had an entire mythology-sized wardrobe waiting in the wings.

At the London premiere, Zendaya wore a Schiaparelli Haute Couture gown with a glazed, statue-like bodice and an illuminated beaded fringe skirt, flown in the same day it debuted on the Paris runway. She followed that with an olive Valentino gown featuring a sculpted vine bust inspired by the Greek landscape. In Paris, an archival Givenchy piece by Alexander McQueen brought structured white sleeves and a dramatic gold masquerade headpiece into the mix. Each stop added another layer to the Athena story, building across cities.

For the Paris premiere, Zendaya stepped out in a custom Louis Vuitton gown with cut-out detailing and a voluminous ruffled bolero, reportedly taking more than 800 hours to construct. At the New York premiere, she closed the tour with a Matières Fécales gown featuring massive white feathered angel wings, a piece Roach had kept on hold for two years. Roach described their creative partnership as symbiotic, noting it could span a single dress or a thousand more. Through every gown and headpiece, it was still those 3,000-year-old earrings that stole the entire tour.

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What are your thoughts on Zendaya's 3,000-year-old The Odyssey earrings? Let us know in the comments.