Ten days later and the only thing I can think about is Moda Operandi Co-Founder Lauren Santo Domingo’s now-deleted tweet issued the morning after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade that read, "@IvankaTrump you are noticeably quiet today. The high school friends who took you to get an abortion are not." Perhaps she deleted after receiving too much pushback from both Trump supporters and those who felt the tweet was a breach of privacy, or perhaps she simply wanted the admission to be ephemeral — enough to do the necessary damage without sticking around in perpetuity. Either way, rare is it to see such a public call-out with so much bite. Then again, rare is it to be living in times as regressive as these.
In other news: Julia Fox has landed in Paris, meaning it must be couture week. The four-day marathon kicked off with a slew of notable faces. Rita Ora, Anitta, CL, Rina Sawayama, Hunter Schafer and Emma Watson sat arm-in-arm while front row at Schiaparelli. Over at Christian Dior there was Naomi Watts, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Lily Aldrige, Celeste and Maye Fusk. Iris Van Herpen, meanwhile, had Coco Rocha, Miss Fame and the aforementioned Julia Fox at her show. Chanel pulled in a bevy of expected notables including Kiera Knightly, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Marion Cotillard and Lucy Boynton.
Then there was also ALAÏA, which presented its Spring 2023 Ready to Wear collection, and had Vincent Cassell, Naomi Campbell, Elle Macpherson, Karlie Kloss, Laura Harrier and Rossy de Palma. Will Schiaparelli take the coveted and arbitrary title of Best FROW of Fashion Week? We’ll have to wait to find out.
But enough about that, let’s get to some of the last two week’s trending topics.
The Barbie Movie Stills Have The Internet Divided — Shocking
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"Three tickets for the Barbie movie please," reads a popular meme template at the moment. Insert: Britney, Paris and Lindsay snapped in 2006 in a car outside of the Beverly Hills Hotel, or Yu-Gi-Oh’s Yami, Yusei and Jaden. Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, an upcoming live-action film based off the iconic fashion doll, has all the makings of a cultural phenomenon. It’s got the pedigree (the cast includes Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Will Ferrell, Michael Cera, Ncuti Gatwa, Hari Nef and more); it has the intellectual property, the intrigue (will this be earnest or camp?) and, most importantly, the hype.
It also has the internet divided after a string of stills (and in some cases videos) have been released as filming has continued in Venice Beach. The stills give little away, but have some tweeting, "I don’t want to see anymore of this movie until I can watch it in theaters!!!!!" It’s a similar sentiment we saw during the height of filming for And Just Like That. In those instances, fans were fearful that the fashion (an integral part of the series) would be entirely revealed through pap photos rather than on the series. Of course, this was nothing close to the case in the end. But with Barbie, these stills only seem to be fueling interest around a film that we still know very little about. I say: Bring on the pap shots. Let us feast on these scraps that will surely not quell our appetites for the forthcoming feast.
Billy Porter Style Icon Period or Style Icon Question Mark
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Let’s talk Billy Porter, shall we? His style has been called game-changing, transcendent and boundary-pushing thanks in large part to his custom Christian Siriano tuxedo gown at the at the 2019 Academy Awards. In the years since, he’s parted ways with stylist Sam Ratelle and Ty Hunter, working now with Colin Anderson.
The two’s most recent red carpet foray found Porter in Rick Owens Fall 2022 at the 2022 BET Awards — a look that many online weren’t thrilled about. “He looks like a hunched back arthritic grandma,” one tweet reads. In truth, this is a look that wouldn’t seem unfamiliar on the likes of a Michèle Lamy or Tyrone Dylan Susman, but something about it here isn’t quite translating. The same could be said of a Tin Man-inspired look at the most recent Tony Awards. *very Sister Patterson voice* What’s not clicking? It’s hard to say.
Is Porter losing his edge? Were we too quick to bestow him the title of style icon? Or is this just par for the course of a fashion risk taker: you win some, you lose some? It’s hard to say. Porter’s last big fashion win was at the 2019 Met Gala, months after his Siriano breakout. There he wore a custom bejeweled catsuit courtesy of the Blonds that included 10-foot wings, a 24-karat gold headpiece and custom gold-leaf Giuseppe Zanotti shoes.
Since then, he hasn’t been able to clinch a big red carpet moment that drew the same cultural rumbling. But with an FX first look deal and his directorial debut in the can, Porter’s focus might be elsewhere.
Thom Browne’s Jockstrap Is the New Miu Miu Micro-Mini
Thom Browne is getting gayer, right? Not just me? Or rather, is it getting more risqué and therefore that distinction feels gay? When Thom Browne models came sashaying down the runway at Thom Browne’s Spring 2023 menswear show — its first Paris show after a two-year hiatus — there were codpieces with Prince Albert piercings and skirts that had they rested any lower on the waist would simply be placed directly on the floor. But the part of the show that elicited the largest gay gasp? The jockstrap, of course.
According to Browne, this collection was an updated meditation on the idea of "how far you can push it?" The result was a set of jockstraps that helped to expose beautifully bare, tanned and hairless assess, all with waistbands in Browne’s signature red white and blue stripes. If the Miu Miu micro-mini was the it-look of last season, surely we have its successor. Now we just need a Nicole Kidman/Vanity Fair-level moment to teleport the look all the way to Mars level heights. Some contenders, I offer up as tributes: Lee Pace or Moses Sumney.
This follows huge trends in menswear right now from JW Anderson and VTMNTS, as well: The jockstrap is having a full-tilt moment. It’s not entirely new (think: Versace or Rick Owens) but so many, in such quick succession, and from brands you wouldn’t quite expect makes this moment notable. While we wait for a big editorial jockstrap moment — ohhhh, what about Manu Rios? — we can gird our loins in preparation of them finally becoming available to the public (by February 2023, I’m told).
Welcome to "Wear Me Out,"a column by pop culture fiend Evan Ross Katz that takes a deep dive into celebrity dressing. From award shows and movie premieres to grocery store runs, he'll keep you up to date on what your favorite celebs have recently worn to the biggest and most inconsequential events.
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