The Swiss sportswear brand On partnered with actor and style icon Zendaya to reveal their first joint line of footwear and apparel in a cinematic way. Released via a campaign film titled Shape of Dreams (press dated 9 April 2026), the piece places the design process inside a surreal setting called the Dream Lab. Rather than a product reel, the film treats clothing development as an imaginative exercise, where fabrics stretch and forms mutate until they settle into finished pieces. This launch ties Zendaya‘s creative input to On‘s Swiss engineering, forming a collection meant to balance everyday wearability with performance-minded details.
Beyond the campaign itself, the collaboration draws on a small circle of creatives: stylist Law Roach helped shape the aesthetic, photographer Sean Thomas produced stills that document the work, and On‘s executive team framed the partnership as a strategic next step for the brand. Director Spike Jonze, known for films that blur reality and fantasy, led the three-minute film, turning what might have been a conventional fashion spot into a miniature narrative about invention. The campaign accompanies a capsule that reinterprets signature silhouettes and introduces new product names, notably the Cloudnova Moon shoe, while the broader project pairs texture and tailoring with practical features suitable for movement.
A film-first approach to launching a collection
Instead of a standard lookbook or commercial, the team opted for an atmosphere-driven short film. Under Jonze’s direction, the campaign sequences treat design iterations as visual transformations: garments elongate, shrink, or remix themselves until an ideal silhouette emerges. This technique highlights the co-created collection as the result of experimentation, not simply trend forecasting. The film frames the creative process as layered and tactile, allowing viewers to see how details like ribbing, drawstrings, and cut lines evolve from idea to finished piece. The cinematic treatment emphasizes collaboration between a celebrity creative voice and a technical design house, showing how concept and craft converge.
The Dream Lab concept and visual storytelling
At the core of the film is the Dream Lab, a stylized workspace that represents the mind of a designer. Within this space, everyday garments are depicted as living objects that respond to touch, motion, and intent. That visual metaphor underlines the campaign’s thesis: thoughtful design can be both functional and expressive. Jonze’s direction leans into playful surrealism—an approach that makes the process itself feel like a character in the story. The result is a three-minute vignette that serves simultaneously as a mood piece, a product introduction, and a creative manifesto for the collaboration between Zendaya and On.
What the collection delivers
The capsule blends minimal silhouettes with performance-oriented materials: items include ribbed tanks and tees, half-zip anoraks, coach jackets, drawstring midi skirts, parachute pants, and Bermuda shorts. Each piece is built to be versatile—designed to move easily between casual and active moments—while retaining a refined visual language. Footwear plays a central role, with the new Cloudnova Moon positioning itself as a sleek complement to the apparel offering. Across the board, the launch emphasizes detail: texture, proportion, and functional touches that align with On’s reputation for engineered comfort.
Design philosophy and performance engineering
The collection reflects a fusion of personal taste and technical know-how. Co-created collection in this context means Zendaya’s instincts on fit and feel were married to On’s development systems, including material choices and construction methods. The aim was to make garments that feel effortless to wear while retaining the performance attributes expected from a sportswear label. According to the campaign materials, this balance was a guiding criterion throughout sampling and prototyping, and it’s communicated visually in both the film and the accompanying still photography by Sean Thomas.
Collaborators and the campaign’s place in Zendaya’s creative arc
Law Roach’s input anchors the wardrobe decisions, while Alex Griffin, On’s chief marketing officer, framed the project as a milestone in the brand’s ongoing creative partnerships. Jonze’s role transformed a product launch into a short narrative experience, underscoring the brand’s willingness to take an artistic route. For Zendaya, who continues to expand her body of creative work alongside acting roles such as her recent critically noted performance in The Drama, this collaboration furthers her profile as a cultural collaborator whose tastes inform both studio and commercial projects. The campaign positions the collection not merely as clothing but as an expression of a creative method—one that invites the audience to witness how ideas take shape.
Ultimately, Shape of Dreams reframes a typical retail drop into a mini film that celebrates experimentation, partnership, and the tactile elements of design. It places a premium on narrative context and craftsmanship while introducing a pragmatic wardrobe built for movement. The effort signals a new chapter for both Zendaya and On, demonstrating how celebrity collaboration and engineering-driven sportswear can be presented through a cinematic lens.