Zayn Malik style: Former One Direction star reveals Met Gala look was inspired by Mortal Kombat

Zayn Malik's decision to go to the 2016 Met Gala as Gigi Hadid's real life knight in shining armour divided fans and spawned scores of hilarious memes. Now the former One Direction star has revealed that his outfit – consisting of a black suit with plate armour sleeves – was inspired by video game franchise Mortal Kombat.

"I was asked to design my own outfit by Donatella Versace," Malik told Dazed & Confused magazine . "I had seen a few people hitting me online, saying negative things about it. But I enjoyed it because they were saying I looked like a dude from Mortal Kombat, and it was actually based on a character called Jax."

This year's theme of Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology, so it wasn't surprising that there were lots of metallics on show as Malik attempted to look as futuristic as possible.

"He had metal arms, and the theme was technology, so I just took it from him...It's a bit easy to just dress up in a suit. I like to do things that are a bit outside of that," he said.

Elsewhere in the candid interview, the Pillow Talk hit maker opened about how he stays grounded as one of the biggest stars on the planet. "I'm just staying the way that I am. I think that's the best way to keep your sanity," he said. "You've got to hold on to what you are and not let things get to your head, because if you do, that's when everything comes crashing down terribly."

The pressure recently got too much for the Bradford born singer and he was forced to pull out of the Capital FM Summertime Ball after suffering from crippling anxiety. "To all those people who have been waiting to see me perform at the Capital Summertime Ball today," he explained in a lengthy statement posted on Twitter."I flew into the UK last night to appear in my home country in front of my family, friends, and most importantly my UK fans."

He continued : "Unfortunately my anxiety that has haunted me throughout the last few months around live performances has gotten the better of me. With the magnitude of the event, I have suffered the worst anxiety of my career. I cannot apologise enough but I want to be honest with everyone who has patiently waited to see me, I promise I will do my best to make this up to everybody I've let down today. I know those who suffer anxiety will understand and I hope those who don't can empathise with my situation."

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