Hold onto your churros: Challengers-mania has spilled off of the Phil’s Tire Town court and onto the Met Gala 2024 carpet, with Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist in two custom Loewe looks.
The Met Gala dress code, “Garden of Time,” borrows its name from a fantastical J.G. Ballard short story. In it, a mob encroaching on a palatial estate is only kept at bay when the Count who lives there cuts a flower from his garden; when they finally do arrive, they find the place in crumbling ruins.
O’Connor’s look is leaning towards the Count: an exaggerated black tuxedo with full tails, a white brocade shirt, a shiny bow tie-cum-brooch from Loewe x Lynda Benglis collection, and beaded Campo Biker boots. (A luxurious upgrade from his La Chimera suits, to be sure.)
Faist went more garden vibes for his Met Gala debut: cream trousers, a black double-breasted blazer, and—crucially—a big, honking, possibly butter-dipped, radish brooch.
Once again, the radish:
Anticipation for how the Challengers boys would dress was already building in the days before the Met Gala. It would be the final stop of a long, charming spring press tour during which their style was both carefully considered and meticulously analyzed. And when it emerged that O’Connor and Faist would be staying at the Carlyle this week—a historic New York City institution since 1930—it was re-christened “The Loewe Boys hotel.”
X content
This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
X content
This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
In Challengers, O’Connor’s Patrick Zweig and Faist’s Art Donaldson are connected by shared history and fierce competition over the woman they both love. In real, sartorial life, the glue is Jonathan Anderson. To recap: GQ’s 2023 designer of the year has been the creative director of Loewe for over ten years. Josh O’Connor has been a face of the brand since 2017. Anderson’s first foray into costume design was with Challengers, where he dressed Patrick Zweig in sleazy tennis grails and Art Donaldson in crisp Uniqlo whites. (Anderson has regularly collaborated with Uniqlo since 2017.) Post-filming, both actors opted for several Anderson designs during their Challengers press tour. Loewe is also dressing Omar Apollo, Dan Levy, Jonathan Bailey, Ayo Edebiri, Gretas Gerwig and Lee, and Taylor Russell at the Met Gala this year. Meanwhile, Met Gala co-chair Zendaya, a.k.a Tashi Duncan, is wearing Maison Margiela Artisanal by John Galliano—appropriately enough, doing her own thing.