This weekend, you might've watched Red, White & Royal Blue, Amazon Prime's big summer blockbuster. Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine star in this saccharine romance story between a British prince and the American president's son. And though deeply unrealistic, and not the sort of backchannel diplomacy recommended by, say, the United Kingdom's Foreign and Commonwealth Office, it's successful: the internet is ablaze with heart-eyes emojis, and Red, White & Royal Blue is sitting pretty at the top of Amazon's charts. And this weekend has been a big one for Zakhar Perez.
Lauded by fans and critics alike for his portrayal as the First Son of thirst, the 31-year-old is as celebrated off-screen for being something of a fashionhead.
Zakhar Perez is approaching getting dressed with the sort of star power you'd expect from a guy who's about to Make It Big (he's already amassed near to one million new Instagram followers since the film's release). Case in point: he was photographed enjoying some downtime in New York City in not one, but two massive fits. Big, confident and, in one outfit, very royal blue, too.
First up he wore a Versace cobalt denim two-piece, comprising a jacket and jeans. He wore a black tank, which he teamed with a pair of Bottega Veneta's leather ankle boots. It was workwear, but elevated. Next up he wore a more chill fit: a sweater vest and a pair of tailored joggers from French label Ami. It was slick. Biceps are out, which always helps with the stans. But most of all, it was a smart take on the standard tank top and sweatpants everyone wears to the gym. Not overly adventurous by today's standards, but also not the entry-level, slubby T-shirt and jeans many rising stars wear in their downtime.
“I sort of go with the same rule with clothes as I do with food. When I go out to eat, if I can make the dish at home, I won't order it,” Zakhar Perez tells GQ, following his bout of weekend big fits. “I want to try something different and interesting. Same with my fits. If I buy an outfit at the store I usually go for something that makes me feel some kind of way and scares me a little. We only live once!”
But this isn't the first time Zakhar Perez has proven that he's one to watch when it comes to his big fits. Last month, he was a guest at Miu Miu's Malibu beach party, where he wore a seriously chic sleeveless vest and trouser combo (we spot a trend here), while prior to that he made waves at Fashion Week when he arrived for the Prada menswear show, er, topless, before throwing on a boxy jacket from the Milanese fashion house. The nod from Miuccia Prada? No big deal. Run with it, Taylor.
Although prior to that, big brands were just a bit of a dream for him. “I remember my dad getting me a subscription of GQ when I was about 12 years old and it kind of became my clothing bible,” he admits. “I could never afford what was in it, but I usually wound up taking the train and thrifting with my siblings in Chicago.”
Please be upstanding for the newly elected First Son of internet thirst, and very big fits.
This story originally ran on British GQ with the title “Red, White and Royal Blue's Taylor Zakhar Perez is running for First Son of Thirst Fits”