Fashion

The Oscars are about to get underway, but heads are already turning for Billy Porter on the red carpet ... who's wearing a tuxedo-gown to this year's award show.

The Broadway performer and gender-fluid artist showed up Sunday wearing a velvet outfit designed by Christian Siriano ... which amounts to one-half tux (up top) and one-half dress (on the bottom). It's certainly a fashion statement, if there ever was one.

What's interesting is that a lot of women have shown up to award shows like this wearing tuxedos over the years, but men conversely doing the same thing hardly ever happens. In fact, actress Elsie Fisher -- who killed it in "Eighth Grade," -- is wearing a tux right now.

As for Billy ... he's known to for his extravagant style and always ends up as a red carpet show stopper at whatever award ceremony he attends. He was donning a pink-lined cape at this year's Golden Globes.

Kim Kardashian West has been a ball of fire this past week sticking up for her little sister, Khloe -- and she completed that transformation this weekend by turning into a smokin' hot flame.

Kim was leaving a photo shoot Saturday at Milk Studios in Hollywood, where she was dressed in a body-hugging, red leather outfit designed to look like some sort of fire ... complete with a matching 'do for good measure.

She looks great -- per usual -- but the timing of her new look is nothing short of perfect, considering how she's been torching people in defense of Khloe after learning about Tristan's latest bout of alleged infidelity ... including one Jordyn Woods.

To recap ... Kim posted (and then deleted) a video Thursday that seemed to shade Jordyn, in which she and Khloe's BFF, Malika Haqq, sang along to Nivea's "Don't Mess With My Man." She also batted off a troll who questioned why Khloe showed face in public right after the cheating scandal ... and she savagely shut down 'Bachelor' creator Mike Fleiss when he claimed Khloe would be the next 'Bachelorette.'

Farrah Abraham's got beef in Texas, but we ain't talking brisket -- she's getting sued for breaking a couple of leases and skipping out on more than $100k in rent.

The company that runs the Oaks at Lakeway Mall in Travis County says Farrah signed two 5-year leases in 2016 for her F&S by Farrah and Sophia Laurent Boutique. Biz was not good, though ... in docs, obtained by TMZ, the mall says Farrah closed her doors in September 2018, and stopped paying rent.

Obviously, that pissed off the mall, and according to the suit ... they fired off a notice for Farrah to pay up. In docs, the Oaks at Lakeway says an attorney repping Farrah's boutique responded that they have "no intentions on making any further payments under the lease agreement."

Translation: kick rocks.

Now, it's true it's Farrah's company that signed the leases ... however, the mall points out Farrah is the guarantor. So, she's on the hook as far as the mall's concerned.

The landlord says Farrah's in the hole for at least $101,212.50 ... and they're not about to let her slip out the backdoor without paying.

For her part, Farrah's under the impression everything was squared away last October when the mall kept her deposit.

Not even Zion Williamson's shoe falling apart on national TV could sway hoopers from the Swoosh ... so says Dahntay Jones, who tells TMZ Sports Nike will face ZERO backlash for the incident.

As we previously reported ... Nike execs held an emergency meeting after the most popular college basketball player had his PG 2.5 sneaker give out just 30 seconds into the Duke/UNC game.

But, Jones -- who played at Duke from 2001-03 -- says all the flippin' out is unnecessary, 'cause there's no way athletes will turn their backs on Nike over a "freak accident."

"Nike's been the best in shoes for years, especially basketball shoes," Jones says.

DJ also weighs in on whether Z-Dub should call it a season and start prepping for the draft.

We also spoke to Kenny Smith -- who previously told us Zion needs to sharpen his iron and continue to play (prior to Wednesday's injury).

Check out if he's changed his mind.

Nike and Zion Williamson are gonna be just fine ... AFTER about 80 million apologies ... so says Dan Le Batard, who thinks ZW's shoe explosion is gonna lead to a money explosion.

Williamson's left Nike disintegrated in the first MINUTE of the much-ballyhooed matchup between Duke and North Carolina earlier this week, injuring Zion, and embarrassing the company.

It was a PR disaster for the shoe giant, prompting a company-wide freak-out, and making some wonder if they'd blown their shot at landing Zion for an endorsement deal whenever he decides to go pro.

We got Dan at LAX and he thinks things between the Swoosh and prodigy will be A-okay ... after the dollars come into play.

"When they give Zion Williamson the $80 million sneaker contract they'll try and make good by him."

Interestingly enough, Dan actually thinks Nike's #1 employee is to blame for Zion's shoe disaster, telling our guy Michael Jordan was the mastermind behind it all, and giving us reasons.

It was inevitable, but North West is officially a chip off the old block when it comes to fashion ... and she's already landed a solo magazine cover to prove it.

Kim and Kanye's 5-year-old daughter is the solo star of the cover of WWD magazine's special "Beauty Inc" issue ... with a tagline, "Keeping Up With the Future."

North also has a spread inside the magazine, in which she poses in all sorts of colorful outfits that are guaranteed to make her daddy proud.

The eldest of the new brood of Kardashian West kids might be too young for a boyfriend, but according to WWD ... "North West leads the way as a new generation comes of age."

Kanye West looks like he's got a lot on his mind these days ... and we're guessing neon sherbet might be one of them.

The rapper was out Thursday heading to his office in Calabasas when he stepped out with a new hairdo. It's pretty colorful. A little purple here, a little green there and tons of red. Whatever the case ... make no mistake about it, Ye looks like a man on a mission.

Kanye's no stranger to giving his hair a remix. Remember that one time he decked his dome in some bright ass red? At the time, the new style came on the heels of a music video shooting scare with Tekashi69.

This time around, the hairdo comes after an awesome Kenny G surprise for Kim K on Valentine's Day. A lot less dramatic, for sure, but still makes him easy to spot in a crowd!

Nike is vowing to get to the bottom of the shoe fail that caused Zion Williamson's game-ending injury ... wishing the Duke superstar a quick recovery and promising to "identify the issue."

The Swoosh was front and center during the Duke/UNC game Wednesday night after Z-Dub's PG 2.5 shoe fell apart when trying to change directions 30 seconds into the game.

Zion spent the rest of the night in the locker room ... and Coach Mike Krzyzewski says his star is dealing with a right knee strain.

"We are obviously concerned and want to wish Zion a speedy recovery," Nike says.

"The quality and performance of our products are of utmost importance. While this is an isolated occurrence, we are working to identify the issue."

Our Nike sources tell us, brand executives called an emergency meeting Thursday morning to discuss a crisis strategy -- including how to deal with the negative publicity.

One source tells us the brand is obviously embarrassed by the incident -- and some execs are concerned it could cause high profile players to sign shoe deals with rival companies.

One of Nike's competitors has already jumped on the opportunity to throw shade ... with Puma saying, "Wouldn't have happened in the pumas" in a now-deleted tweet.

Just one day after Kim Kardashian tore into a fast fashion company for ripping off her style ... she's hammering the message home by taking a different one to court.

Kim just filed suit against Missguided USA -- an online retailer that sells outfits resembling ones worn by celebs, and oftentimes by Kim herself -- for using her name and image without permission to advertise their own "knock-off" designs.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Kim cites multiple instances where Missguided posted its own versions of outfits Kim was photographed wearing. Kim claims the outfits are often whipped up and peddled in a matter of days, sometimes hours.

Her lawsuit includes a side by side of her own post, next to one from Missguided as evidence of what pisses her off about the company.

She also says Missguided often tags her on their social media posts -- and includes photos of her -- giving people the wrong idea that she's working with the co.

Sources close to the case tell us the Missguided lawsuit is just one of many more to come against fashion knockoff brands.

It's interesting ... Kim just slammed Fashion Nova for recreating her vintage Mugler "boob belt" dress from the other night, saying this practice by fast fashion companies was "devastating." Fashion Nova did not use her image to sell their stuff.

Missguided, however, did ... and that's why Kim's going after them.

T.I.'s gonna be rocking nothing but tighty-whities soon -- and not high-end ones -- because he's adding Burberry to his fashion boycott list in response to its noose hoodie fiasco.

Tip ripped the brand Tuesday, just as he did Gucci and Prada last week, and dismissed Burberry's apology for the controversial design -- a new hoodie with drawstrings tied into a noose. His words for Burberry were sharp ... "These aren't coincidences" ... clearly referring to the other fashion house blunders.

The backlash against Burberry started Tuesday after a model pointed out that the company made her wear the controversial sweater on a runway despite her objections. It wasn't until she went public, that Burberry issued its full mea culpa.

Not good enough for T.I., whose boycott list is now at 4 -- Gucci, Prada, Moncler and Burberry -- for their use of racist imagery.

He's also called out his longtime nemesis, Floyd Mayweather, with a diss track over his continued, and some would say brazen, support for Gucci.

As Gucci's blackface controversy rages on, the company's taking steps to make sure it doesn't get any worse ... by training employees how to handle "disruptive behavior."

Gucci sent out an "updated security protocol" playbook -- obtained by TMZ -- to its staff, suggesting ways to deal with protesters or potential troublemakers.

According to the internal memo, Gucci anticipates, "individuals may be coming into our stores to express their concerns or looking for a reaction, and it is important to be extremely cautious, empathetic and focused on de-escalation in the current heightened situation.”

Check out the protocols ... Gucci provides employees a script for different situations and specifically spells out how to approach possible pranksters or people recording video on the premises.

As for the blackface sweater -- Gucci authorizes its workers to apologize on behalf of the company and accept any return of the item ... even if it's past the company policy of 14 days. Any other item purchased more than 14 days ago cannot be returned, however.

The overall the message to employees couldn't be clearer, though -- "ALWAYS FOCUS ON DE-ESCALATION. NEVER ENGAGE IN A VERBAL OR PHYSICAL ALTERCATION WITH A CLIENT."

There's more ... Gucci's CEO, Marco Bizzarri, also sent a letter to employees saying he initially thought the luxury brand's blackface sweater was a minor snafu and people were overreacting.

He insists the mistake was unintentional, though ... and admits in the letter of being ignorant of "the history and significance of blackface."

J Alexander is blasting Burberry for showcasing a hoodie with a noose around the neck ... saying the people who gave it the green light are the ones who should be hanged!

We got the famed "American's Next Top Model" coach Tuesday at LAX, and he didn't hold back in his criticism of Burberry's design from London Fashion Week.

As you might know ... Burberry apologized after getting tons of backlash for showcasing the noose hoodie, calling it a mistake and insensitive. Even the model who was forced to wear the hoodie is speaking out, saying "suicide is not fashion."

But, on the heels of racist blunders from Gucci and Prada, Miss J ain't havin' it!

You gotta see his call for Burberry to be brought to fashion justice. Basically, he thinks the brand deserves a taste of its own medicine -- but he says in his own VERY colorful way.

10:21 AM PT -- A rep for the Fashion Nova brand tells us, "Fashion Nova is an ultra-fast fashion brand that is capable of executing design within hours and believes in fairness in pricing. We strive to offer our customers affordable leading trends. We respect the fashion community and work with a variety of vendors, designers, influencers and celebrities to keep our style offering fresh and relevant."

The statement continues, "Kim Kardashian-West is one of the top fashion icons in the world that our customers draw inspiration from. However, we have not worked with Kim Kardashian-West directly on any of her projects but have been driven by her influential style."

Kim Kardashian West is going after fashion companies like Fashion Nova for jacking original designs and promoting them as their own, or even worse -- making it seem like she's in cahoots.

KKW says it's "devastating" to see brands "rip off designs that have taken the blood, sweat and tears of true designers who have put their all into their own original ideas." Kim doesn't name Fashion Nova ... but it's pretty obvious they're the target.

She's specifically referencing the black, one-of-a-kind vintage Mugler dress she wore at the Hollywood Beauty Awards Sunday night -- which instantly went viral.

The next day, a knock-off version of that dress popped up on FN's website, but only for waitlist. Kim claims this is because the dress obviously hasn't been made to sell yet, and it's simply a ploy to attract customers by tricking them into thinking Kim has a relationship with the company.

Kim adds ... "I’ve watched these companies profit off my husband’s work for years and now that it’s also affecting designers who have been so generous to give me access to their beautiful works, I can no longer sit silent."

She's also warning folks not to believe what they see online, emphasizing she's built relationships with amazing designers to pull off her famous looks, but -- "I don’t have any relationships with these sites. I’m not leaking my looks to anyone, and I don’t support what these companies are doing."

As you may know ... celebs like Cardi B and Amber Rose have collabs with Fashion Nova. Kim's making it clear -- she doesn't.

The fashion world is mourning after legendary designer Karl Lagerfeld's death Tuesday in Paris.

Lagerfeld died in a Parisian hospital ... according to Chanel, where he served as creative director. He was reportedly admitted on Monday night. No cause of death has been released, but there'd been a buzz about his health since he missed 2 Chanel shows last month.

He'd appeared on the runway at the end of every Chanel event since joining the fashion house in 1983. At the close of one of the January shows in Paris, the announcer wished Karl a quick recovery.

German-born Lagerfeld, who previously worked for Fendi, was the toast of the fashion world for decades ... commonly seen rocking his trademark shades at Chanel shows.

He worked closely with modeling legends like Linda Evangelista, Claudia Schiffer and Stella Tennant.

More recently, he'd brought the likes of Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid, Cara Delevingne, and Keira Knightley into the fold at Chanel.

Kim Kardashian reacted to his death, thanking the icon for her first fashion photo shoot.

Lagerfeld is survived by his beloved cat, Choupette, which he'd had since 2011. He famously said he would marry his pet, if it were legal.

He was 85.

This'll make Grandma Kris happy -- Kim, Khloe and Kylie are expanding the family business ... adding their brood to the mix.

The Kardashian-Jenner sisters have filed docs to trademark the names of their kids -- Saint, North and Chicago West along with True Thompson and Stormi Webster. In docs, obtained by TMZ, their mommas say they want to slap the kids' names on a number of products ... including a clothing line, toys and skin care products.

Kylie in particular also filed a trademark for "Stormiworld" -- no big mystery what inspired that move, but safe to say Stormi could take after mom or dad.

What's more ... the fam wants the ability to sign endorsement deals to pimp others' products, although the application doesn't list specifics.

Welcome to the family biz, kids. Now get to work!

Don Cheadle made a powerful statement on 'SNL' Saturday night -- not audibly, but visually.

Cheadle hosted the show and when he introduced the musical guest, Gary Clark, Jr., he wore a tee with the words "Protect Trans Kids" emblazoned on it.

The actor said nothing about the message, but as you know Donald Trump has attacked the trans community with policies like booting them from the military. Trump also reversed the Obama policy of supporting the rights of trans students to use the bathroom of their choice.