Kendall Jenner is once again claiming that her lifelong fame and, specifically, the E! Network reality show her family produces made it challenging for her to become a model.
During the second part of KUWTK reunion special, Kendall Jenner said she appreciated the platform that the show gave her and “never took that for granted.” But the eldest Jenner sister went further, saying, “people probably didn’t want to hire me because I was on a reality TV show.”
Back in 2014, Jenner stirred controversy when she told Love: “What I have has almost worked against me.” She continued: “I had to work even harder to get where I wanted because people didn’t take me seriously as a model. Because of the TV show.”
Jenner’s interest in modeling first became a plot line in Keeping Up With the Kardashians in 2010, when her mom Kris Jenner booked the then 15-year-old a meeting with Wilhelmina Models. A year later, Kendall stormed out of a runway coaching session arranged by her sister Kim Kardashian because she was frustrated with the lesson, explaining in the episode that “Kim originally wanted to do runway but she was too short for it, so I think she’s taking her fantasy out on me.”
By the time she turned 18, Kendall had shot campaigns and magazine covers for Forever21, Sherri Hill, Seventeen, and Teen Vogue. By 2018, she had become the highest paid model in the world.
In the KUWTK reunion special, Kendall explained that she’s often offended by people’s assumptions that she didn’t work to get to “the position that I’m now as a model.” She added: “I went to every single casting, ran all over not only New York City but all over Europe trying to get a job and make my way.” The 25-year-old also said that she dropped her last name from her modeling portfolio in order to book jobs.
Back in 2018, Jenner angered modeling colleagues when told Love Magazine she was “super-selective” about which shows she’d book: “I was never one of those girls who would do like 30 shows a season or whatever the fuck those girls do.” Professional fashion models including Daria Strokous, Jac Jagaciak, and Amber Witcomb took to Instagram to call out Jenner for her entitlement. “Whatever the fuck those girls do’ is do their very best to make their way up and try to make some money so that they can provide for themselves and their families,” Strokous wrote on Instagram stories.
Strokous also pointed out that most models walk in over 70 shows per season, while Teddy Quinlivan hinted that models are often in financial debt to their agencies. “Models don’t just come from Calabasas…they come from Somalia, the Siberian Tundra, a rural village in China, a trailer park in Tennessee,” wrote Quinlivan. (According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the national median salary for a model in 2020 was just $31,910.)
Kendall later took to Twitter to explain her comments, writing: “My words were twisted & taken out of context. I want to be clear. The respect that I have for my peers is immeasurable!”
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The Olympic games are finally kicking off this July, a year after it was originally scheduled to take place. And fashion’s Telfar Clemens, most known for his unisex shopping tote bag that’s become a must-have piece among young Black communities, is joining his home country’s athletes in the competition for gold.
On Monday, The New York Times reported that the Liberian-American designer is making Liberia’s Olympic uniforms for all athletes, officials, and staff in the delegation.
“They said, ‘Go crazy’,” Clemens told The New York Times. “So I did.”
So far, he’s made about 70 pieces in four months, some of which are currently being tested to meet performance standards.
The partnership with Liberia’s delegation seemed to come at the right time for Clemens, who had never designed athletic sportswear before, but told The New York Times he’d been contemplating doing so for a while. Now, Clemens will be releasing a limited collection of athletic pieces inspired by the Olympics on his direct-to-consumer platforms, and later, the brand will launch a full workout and sports gear line in September as part of Telfar’s regular line.
TELFAR IS GOING TO THE OLYMPICS as OFFICIAL SPONSOR of the LIBERIAN NATIONAL TEAM 🇱🇷🇱🇷🇱🇷 Watch the OPENING CEREMONY [July 23] to see the FUTURE. Our Runway. Run way. THANK YOU Emmanuel Matadi and Kouty Mawenh — WE ALL-READY WON. pic.twitter.com/MR0aG2dxXu
The designer has had quite a year after his viral unisex shopping bag sold out each time it dropped in 2020. Everyone from Oprah and Lizzo to Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bella Hadid donned the T-logo bag. In 2020, his creation earned him the CFDA’s Accessories Designer of the Year Award.
Although the Olympics prove new territory for Clemens, this is not the first time the designer has worked on uniforms. Since 2017, he’s dressed White Castle employees in their iconic blue-and-white hues, and recently expanded the designs, including T-shirts, polos, aprons, and visors. Notably, he also designed a durag at the request of company employees, making it the first time this hair accessory is part of a company’s uniform, according to the press release.
Now, he’s joining a long line of designers who’ve made the jump from the runway to the Olympics, including Issey Miyaki (Lithuania), Ralph Lauren (USA), Stella McCartney (Great Britain), and Dsquared (Italy). But, true to Clemens’ spirit and work ethic, while most designers prefer the opening and closing ceremonies stages instead of the race track, he will put his technical design skills to the test as he dresses all five Liberian field and track stars for competition, including the 23rd best runner in the world, Emmanuel Matadi.
Before the coronavirus pandemic, activewear had already been on the rise. Brands like Lululemon, Athleta, and Outdoor Voices were leading the market, valued at $155.2 billion in 2018, according to ReportLinker, and was expected to hit $257.1 billion by 2026. It’s now expected to even surpass that, and reach $547 billion by 2024, according to Allied Market Research.
Shopping aggregator Lyst has seen an uptick in consumers looking for outdoor and technical brands compared to last year, while brands like Nike continued to be strong performers throughout the economic crisis brought by the pandemic. Vogue Business attributes this success to the growth of fitness-centered digital platforms and communities that have emerged in the pandemic, such as Lululemon’s outdoor fitness tracking app Strava and Nike’s Run Club. Both have built a sense of exclusivity around fitness that also translates to their activewear goods.
According to Business of Fashion, the activewear boom is ripe for brands with strong digital presences and loyal communities that can power their success beyond quarantine as people exit the sweatpants bubble. Telfar has both; the brand’s direct-to-consumer business model speaks to its robust fandom that exists online and off. We’re thinking that, soon, T-logo designs on sweats, leggings, and more will be as popular a commodity as on handbags.
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After a week of back-to-back controversies, fashion designer Michael Costello is now in the hot seat after Chrissy Teigen threatened legal action against him.
On Friday, Teigen took to Instagram to defend herself after Costello shared screenshots that seemed to show her bullying him in 2014. Since then, Costello says, he’s suffered from “suicidal thoughts.”
Teigen wrote on June 18: “He just released a statement where he didn’t at ALL acknowledge how fake the dm’s were, & now claims to have emails that don’t exist,” referring to anachronistic design and tech features within Costello’s screenshots that would have been impossible given the timeline. She continued: “Michael, you are now causing actual pain to people who are trying to better themselves. Enough. Or this WILL go further. Not here, but an actual court of law.”
On Saturday, Costello re-opened his Instagram account to share a post defending his claims against Teigen. He wrote: “The fact that Chrissy Teigen and her crisis team are working so hard […] to come out against the DM’s she sent me […] only proves that she is the same bully she has always been, despite her fake apology to the public.”
While it’s unusual for designer-celebrity relationships to implode so publicly, this one has delivered allegations for a whole week, from bullying and accusations of racism to the resurgence of six-year-old drama and “fictional” screenshots. If you feel like you need a guidebook just to understand who did what, here’s a recap of all that’s happened over the last week.
How did it all start?
On June 14, former Project Runway contestant Michael Costello took to Instagram to share that Teigen allegedly called him “a racist” back in 2014, posting screenshots of an alleged conversation where Teigen said: “You will get what’s coming to you.” Costello claims Teigen texted him directly: “Good! racist people like you deserve to suffer and die.” Costello explained that Teigen’s comments occurred after an alleged photoshopped comment surfaced of him writing the N-word to address Maxie James, a designer accusing him of ripping her off back then.
“As a result of what Chrissy Teigen did to me in 2014, I am not okay…To this day, I am still not able to recover from the years of trauma I have experienced,” adding that since then, he’s been allegedly pulled off projects at the last minute, and says Teigen and stylist Monica Rose have pressured brands to avoid working with Costello.
In his statement on Monday, Costello wrote that he’s wanted to set the record straight for years and showed screenshots where he attempted to contact Teigen to explain that the comment was allegedly photoshopped. The post has since been deleted.
Costello’s accusations came after model Courtney Stodden shared that Teigen also allegedly bullied them when they were a teenager (at the time, Stodden was 16 years old and Teigen was in her mid-20s), inciting backlash against Teigen, who left Twitter in May 2021 after issuing an apology for the bullying she inflicted on Stodden. On June 14, Teigen issued a second apology in a lengthy Medium post, writing: “There is simply no excuse for my past horrible tweets.”
What happened between Maxie James and Michael Costello?
After Costello’s post, designer Maxie James took to Instagram stories to share her side of the story. James claims that Costello is “playing victim,” suggesting that his accusations hide his past behavior, revealing that she believes Costello ripped off her “Royale” dress — a one-shoulder turtleneck dress with a low cut — in 2014.
In an Instagram post she published back then, James claimed that her “Royale” dress was inspired by Anthony Vaccarello’s fall 2012 collection, and that Costello first released his “Diana” dress of a similar shape in 2013. In 2014, she first started selling her “Royale” dress through her brand Ella Elisque.
In the post, which has since been deleted, she wrote that Costello later released a “mini” version of the “Diana” dress, which she claimed Costello’s team “purchased from me, renamed as the ‘mini Diana’ dress, and posted on their page passing it as their own.”
Since then, tensions seemed to have continued. On Monday night, James shared that the two had a violent encounter at a fabric store in Los Angeles in 2015, where Costello allegedly called her racial slurs again and broke her phone. “One thing about karma boy! It always finds a way back,” she wrote on her Instagram story that has since expired.
She also commented on an Instagram post by Fashion Bomb Daily on Tuesday morning, writing that “He [Costello] was getting black listed for calling me the N-word twice, once online and once in person, he was able to get his PR team to turn it around and claim “photoshop.“ She continued: “But then a year later, I see him in a fabric store, and he calls me the N-word to my face, we had a whole fist fight in the fabric store and everything.”
These events allegedly took place around the time the alleged photoshopped comment from Costello using the N-word surfaced, later triggering Teigen to call Costello “a racist.”
Refinery29 has reached out to Maxie James but has not heard back at the time of publication. We’ll update this story as we get more information.
So, who else is upset with Costello?
Michael Costello has also been accused of body shaming by singer Leona Lewis and Real Housewives of Atlanta star Falynn Guobadia.
A day after Costello accused Chrissy Teigen of bullying, singer Leona Lewis took to Instagram stories to share her own story. The Bleeding Love singer said that Costello allegedly refused to give her a dress to walk at an L.A. Fashion Week show because of her size.
“I was so embarrassed and deeply hurt,” Lewis wrote on Tuesday. “Because I didn’t look like a model size, I was not permitted to walk in his dress. I had to sit in the audience and was asked by the press why I didn’t walk in the show. I remember having to come up with excuses as I was so humiliated by it all.”
Costello took to Instagram to apologize to Lewis, writing: “I don’t take accusations of body shaming lightly,” he posted. “If I have hurt you in 2014… I want to apologize to you.”
But he also took the opportunity to share his side of the story, writing that he was surprised to hear of these allegations since “you’ve continued to wear me, tag me, and asked for another dress even last month.” On Wednesday, the designer shared a statement with Insider, where he revealed that he only got seven days of notice to dress Lewis and she allegedly wasn’t happy with the options presented for her.
“If Leona has been harboring misunderstandings and hurt all these years, I wish she would’ve talked to me directly,” Costello told Insider. “My team was open in communicating with her team. Even a year later in 2015, she posted herself in one of my dresses on her Instagram.”
Lewis later went back on Instagram to thank her fans for the support and to accept Costello’s apology. “Michael, thank you for your apology, I wish you healing and that you feel better. For now today is a new day, spread love,” she wrote.
On Thursday, Guobadia shared on Instagram that Costello ended her modeling career.
Guobadia claims that she was cast in a Michael Costello LA Fashion Week show when she was 23 years old, adding that when she showed up to the event having bought underwear Costello’s team allegedly asked her to get, she was shut from the show.
“I see Michael and his sister talking in a corner and looking at me with this look on their faces as if I was the scum of the Earth,” she wrote. “Then, in front of all of the models and his team, they come over to me and say, ‘Someone was supposed to call you. We don’t need you for the show and have nothing for you to wear’.”
As of yet, Costello has not responded to Guobadia’s accusations.
Why is Chrissy Teigen threatening Costello now?
On Friday, Chrissy Teigen and her team shared a post on Instagram defending the model against bullying accusations by Costello.
The post claims that Teigen was “surprised and disappointed by Michael Costello’s recent attack” and that the screenshots shared last week by Costello were “fictional.”
Teigen and her team also shared screenshots of DMs and comments Costello made on social media over the last few years complimenting the model. The post also claims that the screenshots shared by Costello could not be from Teigen because they have the wrong handle for Teigen’s account and include features that were not available on Twitter back in 2014 like videochat and blue-to-purple gradiant font.
“Chrissy has acknowledged her past behavior and the pain she has caused but she will not stand for anyone spreading false accusations to further demean her name and reputation,” her team wrote.
While Teigen insists this situation could end up in court, Costello is firm on his story that Teigen “has continued to close doors to my career” and has “nothing left to say.” He also announced that he’s taking a break from social media “for my mental health.”
In the era of celebrity social media apologies and fake news, this type of “he said-she said” is not new. But as it continues to unfold, it’s clear that we’re still in the midst of a reckoning over how social media platforms are shaping pop culture beyond the usual celeb gossip, unearthing painful conversations around mental health, racism, bullying, and harassment.
Refinery29has reached out to Costello but has not heard back at the time of publication. We’ll update this story as we get more information.
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Amazon's pulling out all the stops in the closet category today and tomorrow, with markdowns on a host of its in-house brands along with discounts on a number of viral buys that we’ve devoted words to this year — including the notorious butt-scrunch leggings and a coterie of Insta-ready sunglasses. Even better, Shopbop’s dedicated Amazon storefront is rolling out some rare sales, and we’re carting up curated clothing from brands like ASTR the Label, Free People, and Rolla’s. Not to mention, reader-favorite brands like New Balance, Calvin Klein, and Adidas are all part of the noteworthy sale bunch, too. Less talk, more shop — scroll ahead to score the most stylish deals on women's clothing and fashion during Amazon Prime Day 2021.
At Refinery29, we’re here to help you navigate this overwhelming world of stuff—and, while we do receive commission from Amazon, all of the goods linked to on our site are independently curated by our Most Wanted shopping team editors. All product details reflect the price and availability at the time of publication.
Up to 40% off New Balance
Nab your very own pair of Dad shoes for up to 40% off during Prime Day with an excellent selection of women's New Balance sneakers on markdown for the new 48 hours (and counting).
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Making your underwear drawer Calvin-exclusive has never been easier, thanks to Amazon's Prime Day savings on the iconic underwear brand's cotton wares.
Daily Ritual Daily Ritual Women's Supersoft Terry Racerback Shirttail Dress, $, available at Amazon
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While these mystifyingly-textured tights are formally known as the “High Waist Yoga Pants Tummy Control Slimming Booty Leggings Workout Running Butt Lift Tights”, they’re colloquially referred to as the “TikTok” or “butt scrunch” leggings.
Seasum Butt Lifting Scrunch Booty Leggings, $, available at Amazon
40% Off Levi’s Wedgie Straight Jeans
Levi’s legendary dungarees are about as close to The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants as we’ll ever really get — their butt-flattering powers seem to know no limits (but we do recommend getting your own size).
Levi's Levi's Women's Wedgie Straight Jeans, $, available at Amazon
Up to 40% off adidas
The cult-creator of the legendary Stan Smiths has a selection of its lineup of on-trend athleisure wear marked down for the Prime Day occasion — surf around to snag various sneaker styles for up to 40% off.
Adidas Grand Court Sneaker, $, available at Amazon
28% Off Simplicity Roll-up Wide Brim Visor
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Savings On Select Apparel from Shopbop Brands
Our favorite destination for summer dresses and accessories is offering some tempting discounts on fluttery, warm-weather ready options from Free People and ASTR The Label.
Free People Amelie Mini Dress, $, available at Amazon
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Freda Salvador The Ace Lace Up Booties, $, available at Amazon
Simon Miller Rib Wells Long Sleeve Dress, $, available at Amazon
37% off Orolay Thickened Down Jacket
It wouldn’t be Prime Day without a discount on the Amazon-famous Orolay coat — which is now available in a host of covetable colorways, including this sunny egg-yolk yellow.
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30% Off JW Pei Handbags
This @emrata-beloved handbag brand is known for its affordable vegan leather arm candy — which just got a little more affordable thanks to 30% off select styles.
