The Hiddle-hunk Does Gucci

Where have I been?

Tom Hiddleston is going to be doing some modelin’, for Gucci. Because Jared Leto cannot have all the fun.

Dude sure looks good in It Designer Alessandro Michele’s creations, huh (the campaign is all about men’s tailoring, btw).

Now. Can someone hook the Hiddle-hunk up with Speedo?

Photo: HollywoodReporter.com.

Posh Does Target

And there you were, thinking you’d never find Victoria Beckham dead in a Target.

But there she goes, and for spring, no less.

The Spice Girl-turned-big-time-and-slayin’-the-game-fashion designer announced this week that her expanding empire will hit the retailer with a limited-edition collection of classic womenswear that also will introduce her first line of clothes for children (you probably can especially thank Harper Beckham for that one).

More than 200 pieces ranging in sizes from XS to 3X and in prices from $6 to $70 will become available in stores and online on April 9, with a few pieces selling internationally only on the designer’s website.

Now...while I am firmly Posh Spice 4ever, to this I say: Cool beans!

Photo: OK.co.uk.

Model-Turned-Agent

Kate Moss is going through the change.

After nearly 30 years as a titan of her industry, the English supermodel has established the Kate Moss Agency, a new venture that will help launch the careers of next big things in modeling. The focus, Moss has said, will be on “people that want to sing and dance and act – I want to create stars.”

Obviously. A multi-prong approach is most savvy nowadays, don’t you know, don’t you know.

The Kate Moss Agency, of course, also will serve as a lifestyle brand for La Moss, something to which girlfriend looks most forward.

“To do a collaboration and put your name on a product is a big thing for me.”

Well then, break a perfectly shaped leg, girl!

Photo: Heart.co.uk.

Wear GOOP Now!

Got your GOOP beauty-line products all set?

Good. Now turn your attention to...:

GOOP Label!

Gwyneth Paltrow has launched her first like, apparel collection – an Italian-made “creative collaboration” between the actress-cum-GOOPer extraordinaire/e-commerce boss and a small team of designers inspired by some timeless, essential, and luxurious basis items found in G.P.’s own closet. FYI: The clothes are manufactured at the same factories favored by the leading designer brands and will be delivered at a fraction of their cost. 

GOOP Label will release five timed-to-the-season “elevated” basics every month – September dropped today – and the items of the month will be available first come, first serve until they sell out.

So be sure to keep your eye on GOOP, y’all!

(Friggin’. Genius. No?)

Photo: VanityFair.com.

The Return of William Rast

William Rast is back, yo.

You know, the clothing label that Justin Timberlake co-founded 11 years ago.

The multi-hyphenate and his partners have revamped the brand for fall, reportedly with new Americana-inspired T-shirts, jeans, and jackets now available at Belk, Nordstrom, and Bloomingdale’s, among other retailers.

For real.

Check out William Rast’s re-introduction now:

Can you see yourself in Timberlake’s looks?

Eva Directs

Eva Longoria is having a really good year, the unfortunate demise of TV’s Telenovela notwithstanding.

Girlfriend got married.

She got more projects off the ground.

And, now, she’s getting her directin’ on.

Indeed, the actress – who also just launched a fall collection for The Limited – is helming the third episode of the upcoming third season of The CW’s Jane the Virgin.

Yes! Latino power!

Photo: WWD.com.

Taraji Gives Good Face

A hit TV show (that beyond-showcases her twice-Emmy-nominated-for-it talent). A sure-to-resonate winter 2017 movie offering. A book.

Taraji P. Henson is slayin’ it. And that’s all I’m sayin’.

Indeed, the Empire actress is clearly building her own, and, now, she is poised to leave her mark at the MAC counter.

See, Henson has partnered with the make-up giant, to launch a six-piece collection dubbed #MACTaraji that will reflect her “powerhouse confidence and charismatic spark” – a good thing, since the stuff will be all about gettin’ dat glow.

Cookie Lyon would be so proud.

#MACTaraji will be in stores on Sept. 6.

Photo: People.com.

A Most Magical Night

The first Monday in May in New York City: It offers something most of us mere plebes will never experience: glitz and glamour on a level that’s beyond next, for that is when the world-famous Met Gala takes place.

Andrew (Page One: Inside the New York Times) Rossi’s absorbing new doc, The First Monday in May, chronicles the months-long painstaking thought and effort that went into producing last year’s first Monday in May, a.k.a. the massive and successful “China: Through the Looking Glass” exhibit curated by Andrew Bolton (pictured here), the (new) head curator of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. Its release last weekend was timed perfectly, not only to help the Tribeca Film Festival open its 2016 program but to get you all excited about the upcoming affair co-chaired by Vogue’s Anna Wintour, Apple’s Jonathan Ive, Idris Elba, and Taylor Swift, which in just under two weeks from now shall celebrate the opening of a new spring show titled “Manux X Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology.”

The film is a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the politics of the show. A constellation of stars like Rihanna, the Clooneys, Madonna, Katy Perry, Lady GaGa, Beyoncé, Kimye, Bradley Cooper, J. Lo, and exhibit co-chair J. Law, not to leave out myriad leading designers and socialites – all guests of the fashion-meets-art fête – are, of course, featured, but they are not a focus. Wintour, needless to say, is one.

She is (figuratively, literally) front and center during the bulk of the production, given her commanding post at the fashion bible, but so is Bolton. Much has been said about Wintour’s editrix ways, thanks to The Devil Wears Prada, yet the fascination with the most powerful woman in fashion ought to extend and include her passion for fashion as a part, if not as a driving force of culture. Wintour, Rossi makes clear, is a facilitator. In this case, she’s more than just the Met’s champion (the Met Gala raises millions for the museum’s Costume Institute; $12.5 million in 2015 alone): She is Bolton’s champion.

It is mostly through his studious eyes that we learn about the rigors of mounting a relevant, cutting-edge exhibition of all that art and fashion and film can unite to create – a massive showcase of, indeed, culture. The question of whether fashion is art is raised more than once, peppered here and there among talk of how much Rihanna is a$king for to perform at the gala and who is sitting where.

Were it not for this oh-so-intelligent, intriguing, involving documentary, most of us probably wouldn’t have realized that filmmaker Wong Kar Wai played a key role as the artistic director of the show, advising on its narrative and, say, the wisdom of courting a little controversy by featuring a bust, if memory serves, of Mao among statues of the Buddha. We also wouldn’t have become privy to the politics of producing the show among the museum’s players, the star-studded soirée that introduces it, and the symbiosis among ’em; Wintour, in particular, comes off as a pragmatical maker of decisions...as a leader with – gasp! – a well-disguised sense of humor.

The First Monday in May is not about celebrity. Yes, you will see Jessica Chastain cutting a rug with Givenchy designer Riccardo Tisci, but, more importantly, you will get to meet and, really (fingers crossed), understand what goes into creating one of the most magical nights of the years. Rossi never quite answers his central question (whether fashion is art), but, to be fair, it is not actually for him to decide or for his film to serve as the end-all of the conversation on the topic.

That is why we go to museums. Why we watch films (and TV). Why listen to music. Why we dress ourselves. Why we are, and why we ask why.

My Rating ***1/2

Photo: Magnolia Pictures.

Now Everyone Can Have Grace

Grace Coddington is doing it for herself.

The former longtime creative director of Vogue has launched her first fragrance, Grace by Grace Coddington – and don’t you know, don’t you know, gf even designed the bottle for her scent herself.

In fact, the campaign for Grace is all Coddington. The bottle’s a nod to Persian cats (her fave) and the art that accompanies it was illustrated by the fashionista.

Nice, huh.

Photo: Out.com.

Wedded Wu

Congratulations go out to fashion designer Jason Wu, on his nuptials to longtime partner Gustavo Rangel (the CFO of Wu’s brand).

The couple tied the knot on Friday in Tulum, Mexico.

Diane Kruger, Wu’s BFF, was among the stars in attendance. No Michelle Obama, though – although I’ll bet she sent a little something.

Here’s to a happy and long marriage!

Photo: Vogue.co.uk.

Au Revoir, Saint Laurent!

Hedi Slimane is out at Saint Laurent.

The designer announced his decision a couple of days ago, after four years as creative and image director at the fashion house that Yves built.

Kering, Saint Laurent’s backer, confirmed the news in a statement, saying Slimane had completed his “mission, which has led to a complete repositioning of the brand.”

Rumor has it that Belgian designer Anthony Vaccarello – whom Donatella Versace tapped to steer Versus last year – will take over the reigns next month.

Photo: FashionWeekDaily.com.

Work Out Like Beyoncé

Surprise! Beyoncé has an athleisure brand now.

Named Ivy Park (aww!), the line was unveiled on social media by Queen B herself today. Just like that. Just like she likes it. (If memory serves, this is the first show of the collaboration with Topshop that she announced a couple of years ago.)

It’s all meant to be super-inspirational and, you know, oh-so-Yoncé.

Now. About that new CD....

Photo: UsMagazine.com.

Abercrombie & Fitch & Hipster

Where are the puka shells, though?

Once-controversially It-turned-almost-irreparably irrelevant brand Abercrombie & Ftich has gotten a much-needed makeover, just in time for spring (and summer).

And the results are sooo hipster-y – which instadates the new look, IMHO.

Alas, what are you going to do when the vibe du jour is so West Coast-meets-this is how effortless we think we are out here (but we’re really something else entirely).

Hot model, though. His name is Alex Libby, and we are going to be seeing a lot more of him in the months to come.

So enjoy that, at the very least.

Photo: Out.com.

Cait Does H&M

And speaking of new spokespeople. Yes...even when they go and foolishly support – shudder – Ted Cruz....

Urgh.

As you can see in this behind-the-scenes pic, Caitlyn Jenner is the new face of H&M’s athleisure brand.

H&M says it chose Jenner to model H&M Sports because of her history as one of the most celebrated athletes in the world and for her current status as one of the most visible embodiments of possibility.

Jenner, btw, is also the new face of MAC Cosmetics. She’s currently back on E! with the second season of I Am Cait and is also working on a memoir with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Buzz Bissinger (he wrote her coming-out Vanity Fair story last year).

Photo: UsMagazine.com.

On Her Own

Stella McCartney’s body-positive, girl-power-y campaign for her new Pop perfume just got a little Cicconed.

Lourdes Ciccone Leon has been revealed as one of the faces that will help sell the designer’s first fragrance in four years.

Lola joins singer-songwriter Grimes, Kenya Kinski-Jones, and The Hunger Games’ Amandla Stenberg on the job, which marks her first professional foray into the public fray outside of her heavily controlled participation in her and her mom Madonna’s clothing line, Material Girl.

Get it, girl!

Photo: Vogue.com.

Under Phelps’ Armour

The Olympics are coming.

Oh – you thought I was gonna say that winter is coming because we just got a full red-band trailer for the upcoming sixth season of HBO’s Game of Thrones, huh.

Well yeah, that, too.

But back to the Olympics, which are, indeed, coming – so you best get ready to see a whole lotta DILF-to-be Michael Phelps, beginning now.

I mean, did you see his new commercial for Under Armour yet? It is pretty intense, and all about sportsmanship – so get!

The 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio will kick off on Aug. 5.

Photo: UsMagazine.com.

The Man in Dior

Wait. Huh?

Dior spokesperson Robert Pattinson has become the first celebrity spokesperson for Dior Homme?

But, wait. Isn’t he already on the payroll?

Oh. Got it. He’s the first star to hawk the clothes solo...on top of helping to sell fragrances.

All these like, silly like, records and s---.

There R. Patz will be, though, for all of y’all to enjoy in a campaign shot by Karl Lagerfeld. Because why not.

Vampire done good, huh.

Photo: DailyMail.co.uk.

More Bieber In His Calvins (Why Not)

A little more than a year after Justin Bieber first donned his first pair of Calvins for a Calvin Klein underwear campaign, it is time for more.

Because why not.

Enjoy.

Photo: People.com.

OGs for Balmain

Ahem. Yaass!

Wanna know what’s totally in for spring this year? Realness.

That is why Balmain designer and Kim BFF Olivier Rousteing enlisted original supermodels Claudia Schiffer, Cindy Crawford, and Naomi Campbell to work it for the fashion house he runs. The women are bringing it – and It – to the Steven Klein-shot campaign, are they not.

It. Is. The ultimate flashback.

And I love it, because I heart it when the old come out of hiding to reclaim their rightful place in the spotlight and show all the young little bitches how it is done and who’s still boss.

Photo: Vogue.com.

Gender Fluid Modeling

So sorry, Jennifer Connelly and Michelle Williams, but Nicholas Ghesquière has a new muse.

And that new source of inspiration is Jaden Smith.

Indeed, the Louis Vuitton designer has included the 17-year-old son of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith in the new campaign for his latest womenswear collection.

Because gender fluidity will be so It in spring/summer, you guys.

And because skirts for men must finally happen, OKRRR.

Photo: Pursuitist.com.