Fashion

Kanye West has taken his talents to the XXX screen -- he's the creative director for the Pornhub Awards -- and he's got his hand in just about every aspect of the show.

Thursday night's inaugural show will be presented in VR live from The Belasco Theater in L.A. We've learned Kanye and his creative house DONDA have partnered with Willo Perron -- who has worked on some of the biggest tours in music -- will manage the show's production and stage design.

Kanye is also set to premiere a new single and music video with Lil Pump called "I Love It." The video is executive produced by Spike Jonze -- who Kanye's collabed with a ton in the past on projects like "Only One," "Otis" and "Flashing Lights" -- and co-directed by Kanye.

And, get this -- Ye will incorporate his clothing brand too -- all of Thursday night's performers will be decked out in Yeezy gear.

What do LeBron James, Justin Bieber, Hailey Baldwin, Whoopi Goldberg, Ben Simmons, Scooter Braun, Swaggy P and a bunch of yellow milk crates have in common?

They all came together -- at a skate park no less -- for an incredible photo Thursday during New York Fashion Week.

The murderer's row of sports stars and celebs were gathered for the John Elliott runway show ... the runway being the center of a skateboarding ramp.

It looks like the lineup includes Robert Englund and Maverick Carter, as well ... but we're not certain. No clue who the guy behind the fence peering in is, though.

As we reported ... stars like Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, Kendall Jenner and more have already flocked to NYC for Fashion Week events.

Robert O'Neill -- the guy who killed Osama Bin Laden -- ain't joining the Nike boycott ... and says he thinks people are making too big of a deal out of Colin Kaepernick's kneeling demonstration.

The SEAL Team 6 member was out in D.C. and says he sees both sides of the argument when it comes to Kaepernick ... but at the end of the day, he ain't torching his beloved Air Jordans.

"He says it's for awareness for police brutality. I know a lot of vets are insulted. I wouldn't [kneel] personally but I'm a white guy from Montana."

"Like I always say, every time I was in handcuffs, I deserved it."

O'Neill says when it comes to the people burning their Nikes -- he thinks it's stupid ... saying they're better off donating their gear to homeless people.

His feelings don't exactly line up with another famous special forces guy -- ex-UFC fighter Tim Kennedy -- who told us his military buddies at Fort Bragg in North Carolina were fuming over the Nike ad.

Kennedy told us he would never buy Nike again.

Doesn't seem O'Neill's on the same page.

Nike didn't just embrace Colin Kaepernick because of his views ... its market research was clear -- the race, age and political views of most Nike customers are in sync with the new ad campaign.

Sources with direct knowledge of Nike's demographics have given TMZ an inside look into the company, and it paints a clear picture of consumers who generally support Kaepernick's protest.

African American, Hispanics and Asians are more strongly represented in Nike's consumer base than they are in the U.S. population.

For example, the company's market research shows 13% of Americans identify as African American, yet 18% of Nike buyers are black. Hispanics account for 16% of the population, but represent 19% of Nike buyers. And, Asians account for 3% of the population, but 5% of Nike customers.

Caucasians are under-represented in the Nike world. The white population in the U.S. is 75% -- but they comprise only 67% of Nike's customers. And, of those, Nike believes a very large percentage, especially young whites, support Colin.

BTW ... the percentages don't add up to 100, because some people in the company's marketing research identify as more than one race.

As for age ... according to Nike's stats, 18 to 34-year-olds comprise 30% of the U.S. population, but they represent a whopping 43% of Nike buyers. On the other hand, people 65 and older account for 19% of the population, but represent only 6% of Nike customers.

Now politics ... Nike consumers are 7% less likely to be Republicans than the general population, and 3% more likely to be Democrats.

Short story ... Nike made a big statement by its new Kaepernick ad campaign, but the people most likely to protest are outside the company's sweet spot.

That said, there was a bonus for Nike ... numbers aside, we're told they wanted a campaign promoting social change that current and future athletes would embrace.

Lil Rel Howery has a question for all the people boycotting Nike over the Colin Kaepernick ad -- where were you during the Nike sweatshop scandals?!?!

The funnyman -- and star of "Rel" -- tells TMZ Sports he thinks it's "crazy" that people are wasting their money by burning Nike products ... and finds it interesting that CK was the issue to set them off.

"They didn't burn they stuff when they said Nike was using sweatshops," Rel said.

Background ... Nike has been accused of using sweatshops since the '90s -- but began auditing its factories in 2002.

But, Rel says he's a BIG fan of Nike's new ad campaign with Kaep -- "I think it's a dope promotion man. Nike's doing a good job of not just dealing with athletes, just dope people."

Nicki Minaj, Kendall Jenner and Cardi B weren't literally rocking baggage at New York Fashion Week events ... but they did bring enough beef to create palpable tension.

The model and rappers were just a few of the celebs flocking to NYC for the NYFW spectacle -- Bella and Gigi Hadid, Adriana Lima, Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson and the list goes on and on.

But, it's interesting to see Nicki, Kendall and Cardi all in the same city with so much drama surrounding them. As you know ... Cardi's been dissing Nicki, who went after Kendall's sister.

And then there's Kendall ... who just last month said she's "selective" about the runway shows she chooses and blasted others, saying, "I was never one of those girls who would do like 30 shows a season or whatever the f*** those girls do." Awkward.

It's unclear if the trio came close to coming face-to-face. They were at different events -- Cardi was at Tom Ford's show, Nicki at ELLE & IMG's party and Kendall at 1 OAK.

"Lose 120 pounds and become an Ironman ... after beating a brain tumor."

Damn impressive, right?

Colin Kaepernick thought so ... and that's why Charlie Jabaley was picked to be featured in Kaep's new Nike commercial.

Charlie used to be 300 pounds. He also used to manage rap stars like 2 Chainz and Travis Porter -- but quit his job to focus on health when doctors told him a brain tumor from his youth had come back.

Charlie tells TMZ Sports ... he had always wanted to be a pro athlete -- and after his health scare, he kicked his workout regimen into high gear.

He started biking. Running. Swimming ... and documented the whole thing in a fan-made Nike commercial.

The spot went viral and caught the attention of Nike execs who were so impressed, they selected Charlie for a feature spot in the new Kaep ad ... alongside LeBron James and Odell Beckham.

"They put me in what I believe is the most culturally shifting ad campaign of all-time," Charlie tells TMZ Sports.

"It's just an honor to be in it. I love it. It's so inspirational. It's talking about the crazy dreamers of the world, and that's all I am. I'm one of the crazy dreamers. So thank you, Nike."

The Game says Colin Kaepernick's new Nike ad is "one for the history books" -- and tells TMZ Sports he hopes it's just the beginning of Nike becoming a driving force for social justice.

"Everything that Nike's doing with Kaepernick is incredible," The Game told us in L.A.

"It's incredible to see a corporation as big as Nike put all that faith and trust in one of our new heroes. I think it's dope ... So, kudos to Nike."

Of course, Game has been big in the charity game for years -- and famously launched the Robin Hood Project to help families in need a few years back.

Our guy asked Game if he thinks Nike will get involved in other social causes.

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.