You enter into one of those dark spaces and find a stage lit as a 1950s Mexican street.
Then youre in the middle of the jungle.
If you were to ask a child what cinema is, it would be this.
Luca Guadagnino and Jonathan Anderson on the set ofQueer.
I wanted something where I was going to learn through the process about that period.
(And thats without mentioningthatcentipede necklace.)
Vogue: Hi, Jonathan.
Photo: Yannis Drakoulidis
I believe Im finding you in Los Angeles today?
Jonathan Anderson:Yes, were in LA.
We had the premiere last night, and today were doing press.
Photo: Yannis Drakoulidis
So its just jet lag and the usual running around like a headless chicken.
I dont know how you find the time to do this projectand promo for italongside your two other jobs.
When is it ready?
Photo: Yannis Drakoulidis
To go back to the beginning: How did you first cross paths with Luca?
It was at a hotel in Rome, right?
We were actually introduced by Karla Otto.
Photo: Yannis Drakoulidis
It was one of those meetings where I felt like I had known Luca all my life.
We were meant to just have a coffee, but then we chatted all afternoon.
And there are not many people, I think, who understand clothing as deeply as Luca does.
Photo: Yannis Drakoulidis
Were there any shared cultural touchstones or specific interests that you remember bonding over?
I think definitely art.
Were both obsessive collectors and like similar things.
Photo: Yannis Drakoulidis
Where do those conversations tend to happen, where youre just bouncing ideas around?
I think I talk to Luca nearly every day.
If I dont, then I feel like Ive missed something.
Sometimes, its just instinctive.
Through Luca, Ive learned what I want from a scene.
Obviously you worked onChallengerstogether first, but at what point did the conversation aroundQueerkick off?
Photo: Yannis Drakoulidis
Luca had finallyafter many, many years of trying to get the rights toQueerfound out they were suddenly available.
He then turned to Justin and was like, Lets make this happen.
Then we all had such an enjoyable process onChallengersthat Luca was like, Will you doQueer?
Photo: Yannis Drakoulidis
I was like, Of course.
I will do everything I can to make it work.
Even though I was already thinking: How am I going to do this?
Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection
I did love the book already, though.
I read it at university.
Its one of those go-to books when youre growing up queerits one of those educational books.
Its a part of queer culture.
Ultimately, I think about cinema as history-making.
You mentioned that you had read the book already.
How did you begin putting the characters costumes together?
Did you use the book as the starting point, or did you go back through the archives first?
With Burroughs, its like youre trying to navigate what is real and what is not real.
A lot of things in the book do not exist.
Theyre fragments of his world that have been reimagined.
There are parts of Mexico in it that do not exist, but there are parts that do.
For me, the shirt was a turning point in [making] the film.
I like following those threads.
Its not about thebangof fashion where its a 15-minute show that has to sell you this one idea.
I had wanted to ask you about that sheer shirt, actually.
I know its period-accurate, but it looks so contemporary.
Was that a quality you actively sought out when sourcing the garments for the film?
There was something so interesting about that fabric.
Its like a crepe nylon, so its very texturalalmost like thick stockings.
The fabric is kind of crunchy.
That was one part where I liked that it was a facsimile.
Then you have the centipede necklace, which I had made with Loewe with the moonstone in the head.
That was something that Luca really had a vision about, so it had to be made from scratch.
Working as the costume designer, did it feel pleasant to relinquish that total control for a little while?
Yes, I enjoy it.
Its quite nice sometimes to be submissive in life.
I think its really helped me with my journey within fashion.
Its nice to restartit keeps your feet on the ground.
I think, in fashion, its very easy to levitateoffthe ground.
I think maybe everything has an effect, and sometimes you dont know what the effect will be.
So I dont know for sure.
It became a form of textural classicismvery precise.
It all looks very together at first, but then you realize its not.
What are the next steps for you as a costume designer?
Are you and Luca already discussing future projects?
There are some projects in the works that will hopefully transpire as time goes on.
Weve got a couple more we want to do, and I want to make it work.
I have to try and figure out how to navigate it with my day job, ultimately.
And I think they can dovetail into one another.
I was like, Well, Id love you in the campaign.
[Kroll appeared in Loewes spring 2025 campaign, photographed by Juergen Teller.]
Theres no hard logic to it.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
