Zendaya’s Challengers Puts Luxury Brands on Center Court
Directed by Luca Guadagnino, the new movie about love on the all-star tennis circuit embraces brand sponsorships in a bid for realism.
Mike Faist, Zendaya and Josh O’Connor form an uncomfortable love triangle.
Photographer: Metro Goldwyn Mayer PicturesRoger Federer has done campaigns for Rolex, as have Rafael Nadal for Armani and Serena Williams for Audemars Piguet. Tashi Duncan and Art Donaldson? They have Aston Martin.
Tashi and Art are fictional characters played by Zendaya and Mike Faist in Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers. In the movie, they promote brands just as their real-life counterparts would. When she’s an up-and-coming junior star, Tashi has an Adidas campaign. When Art becomes a superstar, he wears Uniqlo. An Aston Martin billboard becomes a symbol of the tension and power dynamics in their marriage, which is tested when Patrick (Josh O’Connor)—Art’s old doubles partner and Tashi's ex-boyfriend—reemerges in their lives.