Loewe's "I Told Ya" Shirt, as Seen in "Challengers" is Already The Shirt of Summer 2024
Worn by stars of the film, Zendaya and Josh O'Connor, the iconic tee was a major presence during the premiere of Luca Guadagnino's new film, Challengers. After the release of the film, fans discovered that the history of the cult slogan tee dates back to the 1960s.
A photo from the mid-1990s shows John F. Kennedy Jr. playing frisbee with his beloved German shepherd, Wolf, while wearing a t-shirt that reads "I Told Ya." The tee bore a remarkable resemblance to the one seen in Luca Guadagnino's new film, Challengers, which both Zendaya and Josh O'Connor wore. Naturally, the photo of JFK Jr. went viral on the internet and on social media in just a few hours, with fans making side-by-side comparisons between the two iterations of the tee.
The Story of a T-shirt, From the 1960 US Elections to Guadagnino's Newest Feature Film
When John F. Kennedy was inaugurated in Washington D.C. on January 20, 1961, all of his present supporters were seen wearing pins bearing a slogan that became instantly famous: "I told you so." Kennedy won those elections by a very narrow margin, with just over 100,000 votes separating him from his challenger, Nixon.
While it was a witty signal of victory, the motto on the pin was also a sigh of relief for JFK and his electorate, so much so that it became an emblem of that tense electoral cycle and among the best-known symbols of the US political world. The slogan went viral again in the '90s, when JFK's son, paparazzi-popular lawyer John F. Kennedy Jr., started wearing a slogan tee that referred to the motto used by his father.
Jonathan Anderson and the Age-Old Fascination With Old Money Style
Why did Jonathan Anderson, creative director of Loewe and JW Anderson, and costume designer of Challengers, choose to refresh the "I Told Ya" t-shirt worn by John F. Kennedy Jr? Tennis has always been the sport of choice for the aristocratic elite, and the Kennedys are the very symbol of the so-called old money aristocracy. Posh yet low profile at the same time, the iconic family represents a major part of the tennis world, making the witty t-shirt moment a natural choice for Challengers.
