Fashion

Nike's decision to make its bold deal with Colin Kaepernick was partly a shrewd business move, but sources involved in the negotiation tell TMZ Sports a big part was also cultural.

Our sources say Nike was fully aware there would be outrage by embracing Kaepernick's cause but, on balance, the company knew it would attract way more customers than it would lose. Although the target demos are highly protected by Nike -- industry sources tell TMZ Nike's customer base is "significantly urban" and the company felt the decision would be solidly embraced.

But, beyond demos ... we're told Nike's decision was a long play. Up-and-coming athletes are no longer just shills for corporate America. They increasingly embrace causes and are not afraid to speak out, even at their own expense. In other words, they believe in Colin's mantra, "Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything."

We're told Nike wants to show these athletes it will back their causes, even if it means getting attacked by the President of the United States. The company wants the up-and-comers to feel proud to be associated with the brand.

Serious moment from "Botched" star Dr. Paul Nassif ... who believes Colin Kaepernick should STAND for the national anthem before he's rewarded with endorsements from Nike.

The Bev Hills plastic surgeon -- who's appeared on everything from "Dr. 90210" to 'Real Housewives' -- explained that he seems to be on the same page as President Trump when it comes to the anthem.

"When the Pledge of Allegiance, the songs of this country, anything is played -- we should be standing up. Hand over our hearts. Saluting, if you're in the military ... That's the way I feel about it."

"And, that's what I think everybody should do including all the NFL players."

Nassif added, "So, do I think that Nike should be doing something with him? No, I don't."

Ex-UFC star Tim Kennedy -- who's also a Green Beret -- says he's boycotting Nike in the wake of their Colin Kaepernick ad ... and says his special forces buddies feel the exact same way.

Kennedy is currently participating at a military school course at Fort Bragg in North Carolina -- where he told us he feels the ad is disrespectful to the flag and to the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces.

"When I walked into the team room this morning, there were some people who were fuming," Kennedy tells TMZ Sports ... "I'm not gonna speak for them, but there was no one happy about it."

Kennedy's got a huge problem with the words in Colin's Nike ad -- "Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything."

Tim says every member in this special forces team room has lost at least 10 friends who died while serving their country ... and he finds it offensive that Colin would describe what he's been through as "sacrificing everything."

"I'm talking about REAL heroes and I'm surrounded by a bunch of them right now."

When the dots get connected ... it seems like Ben Simmons is in Kendall Jenner's rear view and she's fully hooked up with Anwar Hadid.

Kendall and Anwar showed up in Malibu. There are no shots of them together, but they were both at the Malibu Chili Cook-Off on Friday and at Nobu Sunday night, where the pics were taken.

We haven't seen Kendall and Ben together in several weeks.

You'll recall back in June Kendall and Anwar were seen making out at the CFDA Awards after-party at Socialista nightclub in New York City. The pic is especially interesting because Kendall almost never shows PDA. She later said they were just friends ... but the image tells a different story.

"The One Where No One's Ready" and Joey wearing all of Chandler's clothes is definitely Balenciaga's inspiration for its insanely expensive 7-layer coat -- so says the "Friends" costume designer, who's flattered.

When Balenciaga's $9,000 coat became available for pre-order sales at Barney's New York, not only did it trigger immediate Joey memes across the globe, Debra McGuire -- the costume designer who came up with the look in season 3 -- also took notice.

Debra tells TMZ "the coat is wondrously similar. I am flattered." She adds, "Bravo then to the 'FRIENDS' inspired coat!!!"

Debra says the coat was never meant to be a fashion statement -- "I remember laying out all the pieces in the [Warner Bros.] workroom and contemplating the best way to construct while making it an easy garment to get in and out of. It would open from the back and Joey would enter that way."

She adds that's the biggest difference between her and Balenciaga ... "Assuming this 2018 version is worn like a coat that opens in the front."

Funny you should ask ... Balenciaga's coat is a heavily-layered parka that's one garment made up of 7 different types of clothing ... from a hoodie and shirt to a fleece jacket. There's also a puffy coat, but nothing like the one George wore in "Seinfield."

Don't event think about it, Balenciaga.

Ex-pro tennis player Anne White says she knows how Serena Williams feels about the ban on her catsuit at the French Open .. because she went through the exact same thing back in the '80s.

White famously wore a body suit to play in Wimbledon in 1985 -- but was told during the tournament, the suit violated the dress code and she needed to change it or she couldn't continue.

She changed her outfit -- and lost the following match.

White tells TMZ Sports she felt the whole thing was sexist -- "It's kinda crazy that women aren't allowed to wear what they want to work. It's a shame."

Like Serena, Anne says her catsuit was more about function than fashion -- explaining her outfit was intended to keep her warm in the cold weather.

FYI, Serena's catsuit was custom-designed to increase blood circulation in the wake of health issues caused by blot clots.

White tells us ... she's a HUGE fan of Serena and believes tennis officials should change the rules to allow women like Williams to essentially wear whatever they want, especially if there's a legit reason.

51-year-old Seattle Mariners manager Scott Servais made a bet with his star pitcher Edwin Diaz -- get 50 saves and I'll swap out my dad hair for your flashy designer fade.

Diaz got the job done on Saturday -- so, Scott got the chop ... and it's all on video.

Diaz and Servais made the bet way earlier this year -- and as Diaz caught fire, it became clear Servais was gonna have to walk the walk or be forever mocked as a chicken.

Well, guess what ... just 3 days after Diaz notched save #50 against the Diamondbacks -- Servais found himself a barber, got in the chair and held up his end of the bargain.

End result? IT LOOKS GOOOOOD!!!!!!

Kanye West says he was taking a page from the Land of the Rising Sun with his waaaay too small Yeezy slides.

Ye is firing back at everyone who mocked his choice of footwear earlier this month at 2 Chainz' wedding, saying his feet ARE acceptable ... in JAPAN!!!

Take us to school, Kanye. Or, should we say, sensei?

You'll recall ... Kanye made the Internet go absolutely crazy when he showed up at the ceremony, with Kim Kardashian West, rocking those infamously small sandals.

Look, we'll admit ... on first sight, we gave Ye some grief over his style choice. Apologies to Japan, must've been lost in translation.

Fat Joe's sneaker biz partner screwed over their customers -- even went to prison for it -- but now the guy's claiming Joe screwed him out of a ton of cash ... TMZ has learned.

Scott Spina is suing the Bronx rapper over a shoe store, UP NYC, which they opened together in November 2016. In the suit, Spina says he sunk a bunch of his own dough -- $150k -- plus he wrangled more than $300k more from investors and loans.

Spina claims it was all good when they opened their doors. According to the suit, obtained by TMZ, they hauled in $175k on their first day -- but he says 20 days later, Joe kicked him out of the biz.

The part Spina is leaving out is the fact ... he was eventually busted for stealing credit card info from his customers. Seems like Joe cut him off once he caught wind of Spina's sketchy dealings. Earlier this month, Spina was sentenced to 35 months in a federal prison.

Still, Spina says Joe owes him -- he's suing for his $150k personal investment, plus his fair share of UP NYC. We've reached out to Joe's camp, but no word back yet.

Kim Kardashian West had some pretty dramatic implants installed under her skin ... and these make her look like she just arrived from another planet.

Kim posted a couple vids Monday showing a growth in her neck that lights up to the rhythm of her heartbeat. The temporary piece -- that looks like an alien necklace -- is part of a larger art experience called A. Human ... founded by Simon Huck.

Chrissy Teigen wore feathers sprouting from her chest.

"Queer Eye" star Tan France got in on the action too -- with a piece called The Tudor -- a living piece of jewelry made to look like ruffled skin with bioreactive crystals.

Transgender supermodel Andreja Pejic wore skin-sculpted shoulders, a design called The Pinnacle, that was part of a collab with designer and former Lady Gaga creative director Nicola Formichetti.

A. Human will open as a month-long interactive art experience, starting September 5 in NYC.

Colin Kaepernick's message will be coming to a store near you very soon ... because TMZ Sports has learned the QB has filed an application to trademark his signature "I'm With Kap" slogan for clothing.

Kap's been using the mantra since the beginning of his schism with the NFL ... with the hashtag taking off on social media, and celebrities like G-Eazy, Kenny Stills and Harry Belafonte rocking shirts bearing the slogan.

Now we've learned Kap has filed paperwork in California to own he slogan for use on shirts, hoodies, caps and other apparel.

It's an interesting move ... there's some talk that major clothing brands, like Adidas and Puma, could make a move to sign Kap in the future, so owning the trademark could mean big business for him.

It's not like he's desperate for the cash -- Kaepernick reportedly made more than $40 mil in contract money during his NFL career. Plus, he had a bunch of sponsorship deals.

But, he's been huge with philanthropy -- donating $1 mil of his own money to various charities and non-profit organizations, including his "Know Your Rights" campaign.

Lauren Conrad, star of the "The Hills," didn't turn down MTV's reboot because she hated her costars ... she's just way too busy making a fortune.

Sources close to Lauren tell us ... LC is swamped with business ventures and just doesn't have time to shoot "The Hills: New Beginnings," which premiers in 2019.

It makes sense why LC can't be bothered with a reboot. Been there, done that.

Lauren's already got several revenue streams -- multiple clothing lines and her own stores -- and her business portfolio is WAY stronger than any of her former costars.

She's DEFINITELY got more going on than Justin "Bobby" Brescia.

We broke the story ... Justin bashed Lauren and Kristin Cavallari as "s****y people" in discussing the new cast for the reboot.

Everyone who watched "The Hills" knows ... LC had tons of confrontations.

But, LC's blowing off Justin's comments ... we're told her decision to pass on the show doesn't have anything to do with beef or lingering problems with Justin or anyone else.

Jennifer Lopez's TV turn as dirty cop Harlee Santos might technically be over, but she's about to do a lot of good in the real world ... particularly for Puerto Rico.

J Lo is partnering up with the Hispanic Federation and the UNIDOS Disaster Relief and Recovery Program to auction off a lot of her personal wardrobe from her NBC hit show, "Shades of Blue," to raise funds for struggling communities in Puerto Rico that were decimated from Hurricane Maria last year.

The clothes are going to be put up for auction on Screenbid -- a website dedicated to pawning off costumes to the stars. Detective Santos' garb is already on the racks right now and will remain up for grabs through September 9. Among the articles on the auction block -- J Lo's camel pants and silk striped blouse, her olive jacket and jeans, her anorak, her tank top and sweatshirt, her gold hoop earrings and, of course, her black cop boots.

Each item sans the earrings will have opening bids of $50 -- the earrings are starting at $100. However, we're told the wardrobe is expected to fetch thousands of dollars each.

Tekashi69 was looking worse for wear Wednesday morning as he went into court -- and it's probably 'cause he was out partying all night ... rockin' the same outfit.

Here are photos of 6ix9ine at Harris County Courthouse in Houston, Texas Wednesday morning to face arraignment in his assault case from earlier this year -- in which he's been accused of choking a 16-year-old kid at a mall. If he looks tired and disheveled ... here's why.

Tekashi was literally a few states over just hours beforehand, partying it up at Mr Jones nightclub in Miami. Yep, those are the same clothes in both sets -- minus the chain and bling, of course. Ya gotta clean up a little bit before showing up in front of a judge, right?

We broke the story ... Tekashi's legal team filed docs asking the court to use his government ID, Daniel Hernandez, during his criminal trial. He's worried his stage name's gonna get dragged through the mud if it's allowed to be uttered on the stand. His arraignment was pushed to September.

Kanye West couldn't give two f***s about his Yeezy slides being two sizes too small -- or that he was even wearing sandals to a wedding over the weekend -- but he's got 2 f***s for you.

Ye was spotted leaving Nobu in Malibu Tuesday night in an appropriate dinner outfit, complete with a pair of shoes ... which actually seemed to fit! He was dining sans Kim ... she was on the other side of town at Madeo in Bev Hills.

Paps peppered Mrs. West with questions about the now-infamous, kid-size slides -- which Kanye wore to 2 Chainz's nuptials last Saturday -- but all she had to say was that they were a dope fashion choice. Much to the photog's dismay ... it doesn't sound like the couple will be repeating with a Yeezy footwear handout like they did a couple years back. Rats!

Interestingly enough, Kanye previewed the latest of his Yeezy shoe collection, the 700 V3 Tuesday ... and it appears he was rocking them when he went out too.

Cardi B didn't perform at the VMAs, but she DID drop some bars at an afterparty ... and it was all new music. Cardi was feeling herself as she rapped on stage at Tao NYC ... throwing some major shade at Nicki Minaj in the process.

With baby daddy Offset hugging on her, Cardi B busted out some new lyrics ... 'I know how to do it / Get a bag, don't I / I know how to get a b**** mad' ... pretty clear she's referencing Nicki.

The shots didn't stop there.

In another new track, Cardi B raps ... 'I'm the queen of talking sh*t / yeah I'm backing it up / yeah, back, back, backing it up' ... that's another clear swipe at Nicki and her new album, 'Queen.'

Cardi then celebrated winning 3 awards by making a pit stop at McDonalds for a delicious treat.

Cardi pretty clearly shaded Nicki Minaj when she called herself "empress" during her speech. Nicki not only thinks of herself as the queen ... as we showed you, she actually thinks she's Harriet Tubman, something that has outraged non-fans and, frankly, even some of her diehard fans. Between Travis Scott, Kylie and now Cardi, Nicki had no place to safely turn in the venue.

Cardi B just showed up to the VMAs -- her first public event since giving birth last month -- and the rapper looks incredible.

CB arrived to Radio City Music Hall Monday evening in NYC rockin' a beautiful purple gown and a sweet new pixie cut. Oh, and her post-baby body is absolutely on point.

Believe it or not, Cardi just popped out baby Kulture a little over a month ago ... and it's clear she's snapped right back.

We broke the story ... Cardi will be opening the televised show in just a few minutes -- not with a musical performance, but with either a monologue or skit of some sort.