EDITOR’S NOTE: Featuring the good, the bad and the ugly, ‘Look of the Week’ is a regular series dedicated to unpacking the most talked about outfit of the last seven days.
On Monday night, A-lister couple of the moment Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner arrived at the Hollywood premiere of “Marty Supreme” looking like two ping pong balls in a pod. In an effort to promote Chalamet’s new film, in which the actor plays an aspiring ping pong champion, the pair were dressed in matching orange outfits — the shade of the table tennis ball used in the film.
Both Chalamet’s monochromatic suit and Jenner’s cut-out maxi dress were designed by LA-based label Chrome Hearts, and featured co-ordinating silver cross-shaped hardware. Chalamet’s look was completed with an opulent ping pong paddle carry case, also the work of Chrome Hearts, as another homage to his on-screen counterpart (or in case he fancied a quick match).
It was equal parts adorable and smart. Today, the red carpet is a vital extension of a film’s marketing machine, and the ensembles worn by Chalamet and Jenner had all the markers of a loved-up viral moment that doubled as great promo. Usually keen to keep their relationship private, declining to discuss each other in interviews and even forgoing the modern tradition of posting each other on Instagram, the twinned outfits were their most public display of coupledom yet — catnip for fans and critics alike.
The outfits also toed the all-important line between method dressing and personal style, with enough sartorial details that nodded to the film without seeming like an inauthentic costume. Particularly the bright orange hue, which has so far appeared throughout the film’s promotional campaign on blimps, branded tracksuits, and in pop-up spaces. It’s the school of “Brat” marketing — Charli XCX’s 2024 album whose slime-green cover, as well as the music, defined the cultural conversation for an entire summer. Not forgetting also “Barbie,” Greta Gerwig’s 2023 record-smashing box office hit that successfully managed to co-opt a particular shade of pink.
But outside of being an exercise in clever advertising, the lovers also continued a celebrity tradition that reached its peak not long after they were born: an outrageously co-ordinated couples outfit that has the potential to become the avatar for the relationship. When you think of Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears (who dated for three years), likely what springs to mind is their double denim red carpet look from 2001. Similarly, David and Victoria Beckham’s marriage can scarcely be considered without a flashback to the pair’s purple-themed wedding outfits, or the matching leathers worn in 1999.
Whatever happens to Jenner and Chalamet, at least this image will remain — a glowing orange light in the history of famous romantic entanglements.