ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
Irish fashion designer Jonathan Anderson is very much in vogue. The British Fashion Council's Designer of the Year founded his label, JW Anderson, in 2008 and became the creative director of the Spanish luxury brand Loewe before he was 30. Ten years later, he's having a go at film fashions. As NPR's Mandalit del Barco reports, Anderson styled the costumes for two of this year's buzziest movies.
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MANDALIT DEL BARCO, BYLINE: For the runway, Jonathan Anderson has created avant-garde, sometimes humorous looks - see-through mesh tops with feathers, mini kilts, sweaters adorned with broken skateboards. His designs have been worn by Rihanna, Harry Styles and Beyonce. From his office in London, he talks about drawing from many inspirations.
JONATHAN ANDERSON: It could be a Renaissance painting I want to re-create - or, you know, I went through a period where I was very obsessed by what is surrealism today.
DEL BARCO: But Anderson's own personal style is much more demure.
ANDERSON: I'm wearing a beige sweater, vintage bleached-out jeans and Loewe shoes.
LUCA GUADAGNINO: Jonathan comes with a ferocious intelligence - someone who knows the way in which we communicate through clothes.
DEL BARCO: Filmmaker Luca Guadagnino says they've been great friends since they met in Italy years ago. They still talk every day. He asked Anderson to design the costumes for his film "Challengers" - a love triangle set in the world of tennis.
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ZENDAYA: (As Tashi Duncan, shouting) Come on.
DEL BARCO: Actor Zendaya stars as the tennis player Tashi Duncan.
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ZENDAYA: (As Tashi Duncan) For about 15 seconds there, we were actually playing tennis, and we understood each other completely. So did everyone watching. It was like we were in love.
DEL BARCO: Anderson says he had never before designed film costumes, and he didn't know much about tennis. But he dove into the psychology of the characters to create their looks, as they matured from wearing sporty tennis outfits to luxury brands.
ANDERSON: Zendaya had worn clothing I had designed, you know, on red carpets and things before. And watching her morph into Tashi - this was just magical to be able to work with.
DEL BARCO: To dress the character Patrick, played by Josh O'Connor, Anderson took his cues from the late John F. Kennedy Jr.
ANDERSON: He is, like, one of the hottest guys in history. But there was something about the kind of swagger of JFK that Patrick needed, you know? There was something about this idea of affluence, this idea of nonchalance.
DEL BARCO: Anderson says he saw a photo of Kennedy playing frisbee and wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the words, I told ya (ph). For the movie, he dressed Patrick in a T-shirt with the same phrase. Then, Guadagnino asked Anderson to work on his next film - which is in theaters now - an adaptation of the William S. Burroughs novella, "Queer."
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DANIEL CRAIG: (As William Lee) Do you think he's queer? Now that I've been spending time with him, I can't tell.
JASON SCHWARTZMAN: (As Joe Guidry) Well, you could always just ask.
CRAIG: (As William Lee) No, no, no, no, no, no.
DEL BARCO: For the film's stars, Daniel Craig and Drew Starkey, Anderson hand-picked one-of-a-kind wardrobes from 1950s menswear. The clothing had to fit into suitcases as their characters travel through Latin America.
ANDERSON: I wanted to give them something which was completely historically accurate, right down to the underwear, the socks. Everything had to be original.
DEL BARCO: As Daniel Craig's character, William Lee, descends further into drugs, his clothes go from cocaine white to black. Anderson says costuming films is like designing a fashion show.
ANDERSON: It is about character-building. I feel like, when I do a show, it's about trying to tell a story within 50 looks which lasts for 15 minutes, nearly - which is the same in costume, because, ultimately, you want the audience to be able to grab onto the character.
DEL BARCO: And to do so, Anderson collaborated with the actors and Guadagnino.
ANDERSON: Luca's a really dear friend of mine, and I would do anything for him. And it sort of - you know, when working on "Queer" and on "Challengers," it was so nice not to be the boss anymore, you know? It was nice to kind of be, how can I make your dream come true?
GUADAGNINO: He gave me so much food for thought that was not simply bound to the concept of the costumes, but more about - what does it mean to be in this world of sports? What does it mean to bring to screen a legendary queer novel?
DEL BARCO: Anderson says he's excited for the new year - more fashion collections, runway shows. He's nominated for a Costume Designers Guild Award. And if he does make it to the Oscars, he has an idea of what he'll wear.
ANDERSON: I like a T-shirt with a tuxedo.
DEL BARCO: After that, Anderson wants to do another film - hopefully, he says, with Guadagnino.
Mandalit del Barco, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF TAYLOR SWIFT SONG, "FEARLESS") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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