How JFK Jnr makes a subtle appearance in Challengers
Costume designer Jonathan Anderson replicated one of John F Kennedy Jr's T-shirts in Luca Guadagnino's Challengers
Words: Zak Maoui
Luca Guadagnino's Challengers is, thus far, the most stylish film of the year. Makes sense, really. Arguably more so than any other sport on the planet, tennis and fashion go hand in hand. And the film is a reflection of that. It's shot with the precision and artistic flare of the guy who delivered Call Me By My Name, and it solely become a red carpet phenomenon thanks to Zendaya's ace outfits (see the custom Brunello Cucinelli, Lacoste et al) and Josh O'Connor's left-field dressing. But what makes it a real fashion flick, is the fact that the tennis drama actually had Jonathan Anderson, creative director of both his namesake brand and Loewe, oversee the costumes.
Naturally the film is bursting with the shiny fashion moments you'd except from the Irish designer. There's Zendaya, who plays fallen tennis pro Tashi Duncan, in Chanel and Cartier necklaces, while swinging an impressive Loewe handbag collection on her arm once she ditched the racket. Mike Faist as Art sports full Uniqlo gear as a tennis champ, while O'Connor's Patrick Zweig is a low ranking tennis wannabe pro in plaid Nike athletic shorts and a beat up vest.
But one look has bounced far beyond the opening and closing credits of the film, and has become a bit of a social phenomenon. Call it the Barbie pink of 2024. In one scene Zendaya sports a T-shirt emblazoned with "I TOLD YA". It's a slogan tee like any other slogan tee, sure. But is it? It's the clever styling of Anderson, which makes it significant.
The tee, which we learn is actually Patricks, is a recreation of one worn by, IYKYK, the late JFK Jnr in the Nineties. But it's not just used because Anderson was a fan of JFK Jnr. In actual fact, Anderson bounced of Guadagnino's own plan for the film, in particular Josh O'Connor. We're given signs that Patrick is from a wealthy family, but is doing what a lot of young, rich kids do and playing poor (in his case on the triple-A Challengers tour). And those signs come in the shape of beaten up, once expensive wallets, and that slogan tee. A sort of image that mimicked that of the younger John F Kennedy. He was often sighted, with his wife Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, in beaten-up sneakers, unbranded fleeces, caps and thigh-high sports shorts. Not the fodder you'd expect from the son of the 35th president of the United States.
"When JFK Jr was younger, in the ‘80s and ‘90s, there was kind of an effortlessness to his wardrobe — like he could wear anything, and sex appeal would always be there,” the Loewe designer told WWD. “I felt like [Zweig] should not care how he looks because, ultimately, he is not endorsed, he is not the biggest star in tennis, so his look becomes a bit ad-hoc and stuck together. But when you look at the base parts of his attire, he has very aged, expensive things, including an old wallet that’s still very expensive, though it’s falling apart."
And JFK Jnr's T-shirt has now become Internet catnip. So much so that Loewe has capitalised on it, releasing a remake of JFK Jnr's T-shirt for a cool £220. Anderson himself has worn it in Paris, as has Zendaya away from the big screen, while Josh O'Connor wore a custom dress shirt iteration of the I TOLD YA design at one of the global premieres of Challengers.
Who'd have thought JFK Jnr would be the unlikely star of the biggest film of the year, 25 years on from his death?
Want more fashion content? Read about how Giorgio Armani is bringing the archival photography of Aldo Fallai to London
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