LONDON — John F. Kennedy Jr. has become an accidental poster boy for tennis and sportswear.
In Luca Guadagnino’s latest film “Challengers,” starring Zendaya and Josh O’Connor, Kennedy Jr. was a direct inspiration for designer Jonathan Anderson, who designed the costumes.
“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 designer told WWD.
John F. Kennedy Jr. in his robe at his graduation from Brown University.
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“I felt like [Patrick Zweig, the character played by O’Connor] 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,” Anderson added.
In the film, Zendaya’s character Tashi Duncan, a former tennis prodigy turned coach wears a T-shirt that reads ‘I told ya,’ based on one of Kennedy Jr.’s own T-shirts that he wore in his heyday.
At the Rome premiere, Anderson wore the T-shirt that’s most similar to Kennedy Jr. and Zendaya. The designer recreated a formal version in a pleated shirt for O’Connor to wear to the London premiere.
John F. Kennedy Jr. in 1988.
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“JFK Jr. is indeed one of those characters you will often gravitate toward as a style source; more so for his casual sporty looks than for his formal attire. His holiday looks with wider-cut slacks, sweaters and sport shirts are classic in the true sense of the word. He is definitely one of the historic figures within politics that clients…