Fashion

Adele returned to social media with a bang.

Whatever she's doing during self-quarantine ... well, it's pretty spectacular, because her transformation continues, and she looks ridiculously amazing.

The singer posted the pic to memorialize her 32nd birthday, saying, "Thank you for the birthday love," adding, "I hope you're all staying safe and sane during this crazy time."

Adele went on to thank first responders, saying, "I’d like to thank all of our first responders and essential workers who are keeping us safe while risking their lives! You are truly our angels ♥️ 2020 okay bye thanks x."

Back to Adele's transformation ... she's been shedding weight since last year -- obvious from the pics we see every few months -- but her bday pic proves she's still thriving while sheltering in place.

The new-look hair and makeup, paired with a hot black mini-dress screams quarantine for the win!!!

We're guessing fans would love to hear how she's doing it through the pandemic. We could all use fitness tips these days, Adele. So, hello ... hit us up!

Designer Michael Costello's not shedding any tears over this year's canceled Met Gala, because he believes the funds raised at the pricey benefit should be going to charities now.

The former "Project Runway" star tells us there's no love lost between the famous fashion gala and him -- he's never been invited -- and he doesn't understand where all the money from the event goes.

The annual New York City gala's been around since 1948, and since 2005 it's been held the first Monday in May. That would've been tonight, but the coronavirus had a different plan.

Michael says tickets to attend go for $30-50,000 a pop ... something he suggests is both ridiculous and suspect.

He tells us even though he looks forward to what celebs and designers bring to the table every year, he'd never dish out that kind of dough to go ... and believes it should go to helping people in need instead.

That's what Costello's been doing lately. As we told you, he's converted his factory into a mask-producing operation in L.A. to benefit frontline workers.

He says he's still focused on that, and won't even check in on the virtual Met Gala going down Monday night on YouTube.

Vogue's calling it "A Moment with the Met" -- but Michael won't even give it that much time.

Channing Tatum is doing a little spring cleaning, but he's still hanging on to a pair of gold harem pants straight outta the 90s ... and MC Hammer's closet!!!

Check out these pics of the "Magic Mike" hunk taking out the trash Sunday at Jessie J's house in Los Angeles ... Channing's barefoot but rocking those funky shiny gold pants.

It's a cool homage and although we can't confirm if the pants are his or Jessie's, one thing is for certain -- it's HAMMER TIME in her crib!!!

Take that anyway ya want.

Anything to make quarantine more fun, right? Taking out the garbage is ho-hum, but when ya slip on the gold harem pants -- different vibe altogether.

Crazy pants aside, it's interesting to see Channing running errands at Jessie's place. Pretty clear the on-again, off-again couple is back on.

Michael Jordan did NOT want to sign with Nike back in the day. Not even close.

He WANTED to sign with ADIDAS IN 1984 ... but they didn't want to make him a priority.

TALK ABOUT A BILLION DOLLAR MISTAKE!!!

MJ explained the whole thing in episode 5 of "The Last Dance" ... admitting his mom FORCED him get on a plane and take a pitch meeting with the Swoosh just to hear what they had to say.

"My mother said, 'You're gonna go listen. You may not like it, but you're gonna go listen,'" Jordan said ... "She made me get on that plane and go listen."

At the time, MJ thought Nikes just weren't a top-flight shoe. He was more into the Adidas.

But, when a very young MJ met with Adidas, they made it clear he would NOT be pushed as their premiere athlete and they weren't open to giving him his own shoe.

Converse -- the other top sneaker company at the time -- had Magic Johnson and Larry Bird on their roster and also didn't see him as their top guy.

So, Jordan took the Nike meeting -- and the rest is history.

"Go into that meeting not wanting to be there, and Nike made this big pitch," Jordan said ... "My father said, 'You'd have to be a fool not taking this deal. This is the best deal.'"

Nike was working on their "Air" technology -- which they built into MJ's shoe and called "Air Jordan."

Also, Nike hired Spike Lee to direct the Air Jordan commercials -- and they were AWESOME.

In fact, Nike only expected $3 million in sales in the first 4 years ... but it sold $126 million in the first year alone!!!

Jordans ultimately became the most popular shoe in the world and made Michael hundreds of millions of dollars over the years.

Joe Exotic is still wheeling and dealing from behind bars ... TMZ has learned the 'Tiger King' is in talks to become the face of a new fashion line!!!

Odain Watson, the owner of the streetwear brand, Odaingerous, tells TMZ ... he wants to partner with Joe on a limited edition collection, and they're already hammering out details through prison phone calls and letters.

Odain says his company reached out to Joe in late March by letter, pitched him on being the face of its next collection ... and he was super intrigued.

The collection sounds pretty cool ... it's being dubbed "REVENGE" and Joe's line would include graphic T-shirts, hoodies and joggers with his face and, of course, tigers.

We're told it will also feature images related to Joe's plight. Y'know ... backstabbing, betrayal, fake friends, success and such.

And, the pièce de résistance -- an exclusive t-shirt with a 'Tiger King' biker jacket print on it. Complete with tiger-striped lapel. We know ... weird, but click through the gallery. You'll get it.

We're told the contract's close to be signed, but they're still negotiating profit sharing ... kind of a big outstanding deal point.

Problem is, the novel coronavirus is throwing a wrench in the plans ... we're told legal mail and communication are stalled at FMC Fort Worth. Remember, Joe's prison is the second leading hotbed for COVID-19 in the federal prison system.

Sorry, folks ... no word on pink sequin shirts making the 'Revenge' tour. Yet.

LaVar Ball says he's definitely open to the idea of teaming with Puma for a Big Baller Brand shoe collab ... saying "the possibilities are unlimited" now that his boys signed with Roc Nation.

"If everything goes right, this thing can be explosive," Ball tells TMZ Sports about joining forces with Jay-Z.

As we previously reported, all 3 of LaVar's sons -- LaMelo, LiAngelo and Lonzo -- are signing with Roc Nation to handle "marketing opportunities" off the court ... which includes shoe deals.

And, with Jay-Z being the creative director for Puma Basketball -- there have been questions about if the boys will jump ship from Big Baller Brand and sign with Hov's company instead.

But, LaVar says it doesn't have to be one or the other -- when asked if there was a possibility of BBB and Puma collaborating on a shoe, he seemed very into the idea.

"That could be," LaVar said ... "See, that's a good thing about dealing with Roc Nation. The possibilities are unlimited."

"They said something I liked which is 'Lavar, we wanna change the game. We wanna do something special.' Now, that terminology right there means I'm supposed to be with you guys. Because my boys are special and like I said, I wanna change so it's all good."

LaVar also told us the decision to join Roc Nation was a FAMILY decision made after thoroughly vetting several agencies.

"I think you have to go through different agencies to see the one that you need that's going to have the same mindset as you. I feel that Roc Nation is trying to move in a direction that we moving in."

As for Jay-Z -- who famously supported LaVar's initial foray into the shoe business back in the day -- Ball says he's "cool" with Hov, but the decision to sign wasn't just about one man.

"All those folks is good man ... Roc Nation wants to do exactly what me and my boys want to do."

There's more ... LaVar is still having fun promoting the Big Baller Brand -- and he's even hosting an online pop-up shop where fans can Zoom with him as they cop BBB march.

"I got a great team around me where my newest guys always thinking of new ideas and things to do to make the brand grow."

The Ball Brothers are joining a new family -- the Roc Nation Sports fam -- with LaMelo, Lonzo AND LiAngelo Ball all planning to sign with Jay-Z's sports management company.

Melo's business partner, Jermaine Jackson, went public with the decision on Monday ... saying the whole family is on board.

"This was a family decision," Jackson said in an interview with ESPN. "This is now an extended family. They put together a beautiful game plan with Jay-Z."

Jackson says the family had been shopping for an agency and spoke with "several agents" -- but ultimately, "The family had good vibes with Roc Nation."

Jackson added ... "I've known Jay-Z since I played for the Knicks, but this is what the kids wanted to do. Jay-Z is a master at what he does. He's global. It's power beyond power."

Roc Nation will take the lead on marketing deals for the Ball bros -- including LaMelo's shoe deal.

Of course, LaVar Ball has put tons of work into rebuilding the Big Baller Brand ... but Jay-Z is the creative director for Puma Basketball ... so it'll be interesting to see how that shakes out.

Jackson says there are multiple sneaker companies targeting Melo -- a top 2020 NBA Draft prospect.

"He's still wide open," Jackson said ... "He hasn't signed with anyone. Everyone is kicking in the door. Melo is open to whatever. With this pandemic going on, we don't know what things are going to look like."

The Ball Bros join a HUGE roster of sports superstars signed to Hov's agency ... including Kyrie Irving, Jaire Alexander, Spencer Dinwiddie and JuJu Smith-Schuster.

Like the shirt Joe Burrow was wearing when got the call from the Cincinnati Bengals to be the #1 pick in the NFL Draft!?

Great! Too bad you won't be able to buy one of your own!

Turns out, Burrow has an endorsement deal with Nike -- and the people at the Swoosh wanted to hook him up with something special to honor his home state of Ohio.

The result was a long-sleeved white shirt with the number 740 inside an outline of the state of Ohio.

740 is the area code for Athens, Ohio ... where he's from.

Of course, Burrow has made sure to put a spotlight on his hometown throughout his worldwide popularity ... and even helped raise more than $500k for the Athens County Food Pantry after a powerful Heisman Trophy acceptance speech.

We reached out to Nike to find out when proud Ohioans can cop Burrow's swag ... and we were told straight-up, "It's not going to retail."

Unclear if the shirt was made specifically for the NFL Draft -- or just for Joe to rock in general.

But, with the Draft happening during the quarantine -- Joe couldn't get to a tailor to get a traditional custom suit for his big moment, so he went casual instead.

We've got a bunch of Ohio guys in our office who are losing their minds over the shirt ... hoping the folks at Nike change their minds.

The NFL Draft is usually a HUGE platform for FASHION -- but with this year's festivities happening at home ... who the hell knows what to expect?!

Some guys have said they're going full loungewear. Others say they'll try and find a suit that fits. Look for t-shirts and jeans too!

As we previously reported, the top celebrity tailors who usually outfit the top draft picks are S.O.L. this year since the players can't travel to the shops to get their expensive custom draft suits!

The NFL has said there is no dress code this year (usually the top picks come dressed up in the FINEST threads) but it's clear they hope the top guys make a fashion effort anyway.

Joe Burrow is already making excuses for his look -- saying he couldn't find a barber to trim him up for his big day!

It all goes down at 5 PM PT -- and we'll track the whole thing here!