Who’s been busier—or more relevant—lately than Zendaya? On a recent New York stay, mostly devoted to press and the premiere of her latest much-buzzed-about film, The Drama, she stole away some time to talk to us about another premiere: her first collection of womenswear for On, the Swiss running shoe and athletic apparel company she’s been collaborating with for a few years.

That collection—designed with the help of her longtime friend and fashion foil, stylist Law Roach—consists of seven pieces (a tank top, a T-shirt, an anorak, a coach’s jacket, a midi skirt, a parachute pant, and a Bermuda short, along with a new iteration of On’s famous Cloudnova shoe, the Cloudnova Moon) and debuts today, with a Spike Jonze video as the centerpiece of the accompanying campaign. But let’s let Zendaya and Law tell us about it all, yeah?

We spoke with the actress from the comfort of her hotel bed, while Law Zoomed in from the set of Project Runway before zipping off to dress Zendaya for that night’s big premiere.

Law Roach and ZendayaPhoto: Courtesy of On

Vogue: When did you start paying attention to style? I’m guessing it’s an earlier age than most people because of what you do, and clothes being a part of that—but aside from your work, have you always paid attention to what you wear?

Zendaya: It’s funny: something my parents allowed me to do when I was a kid was express myself through my clothes. Once I was old enough to kind of decide what I wanted to wear, they kind of just let me dress myself, which was cool. So I wasn’t that kid who had the perfect matching outfit going to school—I kind of just picked whatever I wanted, starting in kindergarten, first grade. The Cheetah Girls was a major thing, so I wore a lot of leopard print—that’s not cheetah print, but I didn’t know the difference.

I love when I see kids and they’re in a princess dress and rain boots—they’re just experimenting with clothes, and they are already figuring out their little personalities. I probably wore some very interesting combinations as an elementary schooler, but I think it was more about what made me feel confident and whatever color I was into, or my fixation at the time. It was nice, because it was before you really have an understanding that you’re being perceived by others because of your clothes—before you feel like you’re being judged for what you wear.