I am in my blazer era, and even though I often have fit issues with my arms, I can genuinely say that their outerwear fits me. I recently got a letterman jacket in a 4X that fits perfectly. I love their ribbed cropped tanks and that the It was once my life will always be proud of it shirt besides I will buy this oversized tees truly are oversized without needing to size up. It’s a lot of wardrobe staples, where I’m like, I can actually wear this, and it’s actually going to be cute.Fashion competitions have long been a popular format for binge-worthy television, with shows like Project Runway, The Face and America’s Next Top Model dominating our screens throughout the Noughties. Fast forward to 2020, Netflix released a design-focused show, Next in Fashion, where its debut season’s winner Minju Kim, as well as runner-up Daniel W Fletcher, have gone on to establish themselves as household names. Now, the show’s second season – with supermodel Gigi Hadid and Tan France hosting – has introduced us to a fresh cast of talented designers. The guest judges on the show are certainly noteworthy, too, with Donatella Versace, Isabel Marant, Olivier Rousteing and Bella Hadid all making appearances. As for the winner? Despite stiff competition, Nigel Xavier won the grand prize of $200,000, as well as the opportunity to launch a collection on Rent the Runway.“It’s crazy, my emails are non-stop and people are already noticing me on the streets—I didn’t expect it to blow up like this,” says the designer on what it’s been like since taking the top spot. “I’m so proud of everything I’ve done and so excited for what’s to come—I’m ready.” Born in California and now based in Atlanta, the 28-year-old creative hadn’t always planned on breaking into fashion. But after joining an after-school fashion programme during his latter high school years, his interest was piqued to an extreme that he couldn’t deny his calling. “I had football scholarship offers, but instead I told my family I wanted to learn how to properly make clothes, so I ended up going to study at SCAD [The Savannah College of Art and Design],” he says. It was at SCAD that Xavier honed in on design skills and discovered his aesthetic—which focuses on upcycling pre-existing garments, with denim being a recurrent material. But how would the designer describe his own work? “I grew up with little money, so despite being inspired by names like Yves Saint Laurent and Rick Owens, I had to find smart ways of reworking clothes in my wardrobe to make the pieces I wanted to wear—even down to my shoes,” he says. “The struggle led me to find my vibe, though, which I would describe as raw and free-flowing, but with an embedded nostalgia—I want to bring together elements of the old and new to create my own world.”Then came Next in Fashion, where Xavier joined a throng of designers to compete for the top prize by completing an array of tasks that included everything from designing ensembles using thrifted separates and fresh flowers, to creating looks of voluminous proportions fit for the Met Gala (with 2019’s theme, Camp: Notes on Fashion, in mind). Xavier had a lot to say when asked what his personal highlights were. “Gigi and Tan were super genuine and gave great feedback – you could tell they genuinely cared about us all,” he beams. “But when Donatella Versace told me that she was inspired by me—I’ll carry that with me for the rest of my career.”Xavier consistently delivered outstanding pieces on the show, whether it was the eye-catching puffer and varsity jacket hybrids from the second episode, or the spliced fringe and denim styles from the collaboration project on episode six (a challenge that he and cast member Amari Carter won). “When we won the collaboration challenge, where Olivier Rousteing was judging, that was another unforgettable moment—this particular challenge was important to me because I truly see myself as a collaborative designer,” he says. As for his final collection? Looks featured an abundance of textured panels that merged streetwear silhouettes with luxurious fabrications. Even though it was tight between him and fellow finalists Bao Tranchi and Deontré Hancock, Xavier deserved to come out on top.What did Xavier take away from the experience of being on the show? “I was initially skeptical about being on TV, but I’m so glad I’ve done it because I’ve learned so much about myself, as well as how to connect with others on a personal and creative level,” he says. As for what’s next? “I’m going to focus my attention on building a great team and producing collections, but also travel the world and see my family more often,” he says. Watch this space. It’s been a while since Gwyneth Paltrow’s wardrobe has generated a media frenzy. These days, most tabloid column inches are dedicated to the credibility of her Goopian self-care gimmicks—hello rectal ozone therapy, jade eggs, and magic mushroom seminars. Not since the gothic Alexander McQueen gown that Paltrow wore to the Oscars in 2002 has the internet’s favorite wellness fanatic garnered this level of interest in her outfits. And they’re neither exuberant nor outré, but rather pared-back, pristine, and perfectly pitched for a courthouse in Utah, where the Oscar-winner has been giving testimony in a civil case brought by Terry Sanderson, a retired optometrist she collided with on Deer Valley’s Bandana Run back in 2016. (Sanderson claims Paltrow caused the crash he says left him with life-altering injuries, and is seeking $300,000 in damages. The actor denies the charge, and is counter-suing for $1 and her legal fees.) It’s timely that this week should see the return of Succession, and the Roy family’s always on-point demonstration of quiet luxury dressing. (Think: sumptuous fabrics and organic hues.) Less bells-and-whistles logos and prints, more blow-the-budget, low-key-but-lustworthy Brunello Cucinelli, Loro Piana, and The Row. Remember when Martha Stewart turned up to court for financial crimes in the mid-Noughties, holding no less than a chocolate-brown Hermès Birkin bag? Cardi B has also accessorized her court appearances with a mind-boggling number of Birkins. For Paltrow’s In Goop Health summits, she’s favored bohemian summer dresses and dopamine dressing, but in court, she keeps it natural and neutral, in khaki, navy, tan, grey, or white that’s, fittingly, as pure as the driven snow.Stealth wealth style doesn’t have to mean skimping on accessories, as long as they’re timeless, classic, and in Paltrow’s case, chunky. Gwynnie paired a delectable unlined leather shopper and belted après ski-chic cardigan with a commendable collection of chain and pendant necklaces and bracelets. The only way to take notes during a trial? Scribbling in a sizeable Smythson notepad.The internet has made much of the sizeable aviator glasses Paltrow wore on her first day in court, and while their comparison to the signature look of a certain Jeffrey Dahmer is hardly a happy one, there is a certain subtle ironic humor to reaching for enormous eyewear when being sued by a former optometrist. The other celebrity pro when it comes to a courtroom wink? When Winona Ryder was on trial in Los Angeles for shoplifting in 2002 she wore a girlish trompe l’oeil Peter Pan collar dress by Marc Jacobs, one of the designers whose pieces she stood accused of stealing.
It was once my life will always be proud of it shirt, hoodie, tank top, sweater and long sleeve t-shirt
Whether in court for reckless endangerment at a strip club (Cardi B, 2018), or driving under the It was once my life will always be proud of it shirt besides I will buy this influence (Lindsay Lohan, 2002), it’s hardly a peak PR moment for an A-lister when they find themselves on trial. Luckily, Paltrow has avoided additional eco-flack by drinking from bottles made of glass instead of plastic. After all, the actress is famous for advocating for the emotional life of water, and no one wants to be additionally accused of indulging in single-use plastic.The Twittersphere has delighted in the conversation between Paltrow and the plaintiff’s lawyer, Kristin Van Orman, an unlikely Swiftie who quizzed the actor about her friendship with the megastar musician Taylor. An equally odd moment? Van Orman (in a cornflower-blue suit at odds with Paltrow’s pared-back palette) expressing her envy over Paltrow’s relatively statuesque five-foot-10-inch frame. She’s probably also secretly taken with the fact that several of the luxurious knitwear pieces Paltrow has worn in court are courtesy of her own brand, G. Label By Goop.Liberace, Sinatra, Elvis, Prince, Elton, Celine, Adele: Las Vegas’s musical residencies have been shaped by artists so revered that they require just a single name to register. Add to that list Usher, who last month began the second phase of his own block-booked Sin City song-athon—entitled “My Way: The Las Vegas Residency”—at Park MGM’s Dolby Live. As GQ persuasively puts it, Usher has found himself “spiritually renewed” by this “sex-soaked smash of a show,” and crowned himself as the “new king of Vegas” in the process. And every king requires flamboyant finery.
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