Why This Irish Designer Will Be The Most Influential Force in Fashion This Summer

Rivalry, sweat-soaked tennis courts, and two professional athletes following Zendaya around like adoring lost puppies: the buzz around Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers is at breaking point as Friday draws closer. The plot centres around Zendaya as Tashi, a former tennis player-turned coach who transforms her husband into a grad slam champion by pitting him against his childhood best friend… and her former boyfriend. One way to make the horniest film of the summer even more feverishly anticipated? Ask Irish fashion designer (and undisputed king of the London fashion scene) JW Anderson to design the costumes.

Challengers marks Derry-born Anderson’s debut as a costume designer: but it’s a role that couldn’t be filled by anyone else. Crisp white pleats, neatly piped edges and collared polo shirts; this could be the a snapshot from Wimbledon in summer… or a glimmer of any of Anderson’s Spring-Summer collections at Loewe or J.W Anderson. While it may be Anderson’s first time designing costume for film, it’s certainly not his first time designing clothes with Josh O’ Connor in mind as the actor has been the face of Anderson’s Eye/Loewe/Nature collections since conception, and even dressed O’ Connor for the 2021 Golden Globes. More recently, Anderson has spoken about his love for dressing the actor, stating that “I love dressing him because I think that he is who I fundamentally would want to be. He is the perfect boy next door, someone that you would look over the fence and be obsessed with.”

Last March, Anderson took to Instagram to announce that he’s been hired by “dear friend” Luca Guadagnino’s, describing the collaboration as “such a dream”. But this isn’t a simple favour, designing for the big screen is a big deal, especially for designers as young as Anderson. He’s following in the footsteps of the fabled fashion greats, like Givenchy designing for Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Paco Rabanne for Barbarella, Tom Ford for James Bond: Spectre, or Jean Paul Gaultier for The Fifth Element. It should come as no surprise that just yesterday, TIME Magazine named Anderson as one of the world’s most influential people in 2024.

In an interview for W Magazine, Anderson was asked about his goal as a costume designer: “We liked that people would have no sense that this would be costume design. It’s just everyday wear, and it’s set in the world of competitive tennis. What I was obsessed about was that in America, Americans buy the brand—it’s McDonald’s; it’s Nike. And there are so many undercurrents in the business of being a tennis player. I liked that it’s a story of how you become successful through branding.”

“I liked that it’s a story of how you become successful through branding.”

Jonathan Anderson

To Anderson (and the rest of the world) Zendaya is more that a fashion icon, “She uses clothing as a kind of instrument.” Even before Challengers, she’s worn Loewe by Anderson right off the runway. But now she’s taking tennis-core seriously. Filming Challengers was big enough to miss the Met Gala, but Zendaya’s making up for it with the press tour. Her custom Loewe shoes worn in Rome feature a surreal tennis ball, pierced with a thin, white heel, as well as wearing the likes of Vivienne Westwood and Thom Brown to fit the sporty look.

While the wardrobe has a break-the-internet level of beauty, it comes with a famously high price tag. But this isn’t getting in between the Derry-Born fashion king dressing the masses this summer. Uniqlo x J. W. Anderson just dropped, and all of the Anderson-esque preppiness splattered over Challengers is available for well under €100. JW Anderson has decided that this is his summer, and he’s letting everyone get in on the fun: whether you want to spend hundreds of thousands on a red carpet look, or just want to drop €40 and pretend to be Zendaya (I know which one I’m choosing.)