Suddenly, after several years of being at the bottom of the fashion heap, black models are back on top. In a big way. Not only are they exclusively populating the pages of this month’s super-hyped Vogue Italia, Wintour & Co. also begrudgingly gave them some attention. At Milan’s Men’s Fashion Week, the designers of Dsquared used a group of models, led by Tyson Beckford, made up almost entirely of black men. And rumor has it that Lanvin’s show next week has an “all-ethnic lineup.”
Judging by reality TV, you would never guess that black models are having trouble finding work.
Tyson Beckford has inked a deal to star with Nikki Taylor in Make Me A Supermodel, Bravo's not-very-subtle answer to America's Next Top Model.
Instead of a panel of model hasbeens and pseudo drag queens, this show will rely on on viewer voting to determine who is still in the running to be America's next top model its winner. With any luck, the public will be able to pick a model who is thin enough to actually work in modeling.
It's a sad day when Mario Lavandeira is at the center of Page Six's lead gossip item, but that was the case this Independence Day. Graciously recycled from Mario/Perez Hilton's own website, picture it: Stereo, Friday night. Mario holding court over his own banquette when Entertainment Tonight reporter-slash-MTV VJ-slash-Nick Lachey girlfriend Vanessa Minnillo and her entourage plop down next to him. Vanessa hits the dance floor. "Total cocksucker" Tyson Beckford gets up in her shit, unwelcomed. Mario The Protector intervenes, words (but not punches) are thrown down. If it weren't for Stereo owner Mike Satsky breaking up the fight, we'd have one bruised Cuban, one screaming VJ, and one escorted actor. And while we would have preferred that scenario much more, the real disappointment is that amid all the photos of Mario and Vanessa, there's not one of Taye's antics. Let down.
BEASTLY BEHAVIOR IN CHELSEA [Page Six]
Vanessa Speaks! [Perez Hilton]
• Maybe it was the drugs, maybe it was the threeway with Jude Law and Sadie Frost and maybe, well, it was more drugs like that fist-sized lump of coke she snorted with Naomi Campbell, but yes, Kate Moss is out of that H&M gig. Oh, but that's not the news! Rather, it's that now ex-boyfriend Pete Doherty was spotted snogging another man.
• There will be no Comeback comeback for Lisa Kudrow. HBO has canned her post-Friends effort because of other "commitments," otherwise known as "shitty ratings." But the "we don't care about ratings" network can't say that, of course.
• Sarah Jessica Parker clocks in as Gotham's highest-earning female with an estimated $38 million year (thanks, Gap!) followed by Kimora Lee Simmons (thanks, uh, Russell!).
• Naomi Campbell is usually tearing worlds apart, but her Fashion For Relief charity catwalk brought together the feuding Tyson Beckford and Diddy, who shook hands and hugged. Though we didn't see Diddy hand Tyson that $600,000 check he owes him.
• To go with the imagined Louis Vuitton toilet paper is this actual (yes, they really make this) Dior toothpaste cozy. (via)
• Party photog Patrick McMullan might not wind up with his own reality show, by his own accord. His talks with New Line cooled when he started assessing the potential legal issues, as in getting the A-list to sign even more releases.
• And don't forget to attend the WYSIWYG show on Sept. 27 (that's a week from today!). Catch Jossip's editor David Hauslaib waxing on his worst roommate experience that, in all hopefulness, will pale in comparison to yours. Read David's interview at The Precog Blog and purchase your tickets in advance here. And while we're dropping gratuitous plugs, today is also David's birthday, so let the gift baskets commence.
• Suge Knight's belt just got tighter now that a judge ruled to freeze the self-shooter's assets. The imprisoned husband of Lydia Harris, who is due $107 million from Suge for helping start Death Row Records, says half of that judgment should be his.
• Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are looking to take twin actors Cole and Dylan Sprouse under their wing and turn them into the male version of them. Not the walking waif aspect, but the minting cash one.
• Paris Hilton continues snubbing probable ex-fiance Paris Latsis by touring the town with Scott Storch. Supposedly it's a move to generate publicity for her upcoming album. Or her upcoming, ahem, video.
• Meanwhile, new relationships are forming all around, with Tyson Beckford and Foxy Brown coupling up during a night at PM. So pleased were the duo that they asked for a copy of the photo a NYDN photog snapped.
• Maury Povich is back for an additional three years, say the rumors, as he's reupped with NBC Universal to continue airing what amounts to boot camp follow-ups.
• Dear god, we're not sure we can endure so many words on the relationship between Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch. And usually we enjoy reading about attractive young white people.
• It's actually not so hard to get in the door at a Fashion Week show, so long as you get bitchy about your birth certificate.
• We weren't the only ones who love, love loved the circus that is The Tyra Banks Show.
• Fabian Basabe suddenly got Asian, which is not the same as suddenly going gay. Some transitions are more subltle, after all.
• W Hotels is snubbing Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony from its Fashion Week party after last year's infamous "fuck you" doodle incident.
• Nicky Hilton is agreeing to hold court as a bridesmaid for both sissy Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. Always a bridesmaid, never a bride — except for that one time in Vegas when we were really wasted and were lucky enough to get it annulled.
• Ocean Drive's VMA party wasn't just home to Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson's brooding — it was also the scene of Shaquille O'Neal's beating up a fellow party-goer. Though he didn't react with Russell Crowe's pinache. Instead, he took off for for Louisiana to escape Hurricane Katrina.
• Tyson Beckford is done with modeling, thanks to Diddy's Sean John line. He announced yesterday he was quitting the biz of cashing in on good looks thanks to Sean Comb's complete lack of fashion know-how. That'll go nicely with his breach of contract and trademark infringement lawsuit.
• B-List celebrities are clamoring to get spots on the Hurricane Katrina benefit circuit, because being seen is being seen, right?
• Whether you think it was the gays, the terrorists or the gay terrorists responsible for Hurricane Katrina, our money is on abortion rights advocates.
• While Courtney Love spends time at her new rehab home, her New York landlord is trying to kick her out of her SoHo loft (in the building Lenny Kravitz once inhabited). Mercury Capital says she hasn't made a mortgage payment since June, which is understandable considering her habit.
• Now that Ashton Kutcher has stepped aside to impregnate Demi Moore, it's Wilmer Valderrama's moment to shine — as a C-list It Boy.
The pretty face of Ralph Lauren is now all cut up. An unexplained car crash yesterday left model-actor Tyson Beckford bruised and sliced (reminds us of a certain hotel desk clerk). Around 5am he was rushed to Jersey City Medical Center, which gives us the feeling his cuts are going to get more infected.
If only Tyson had learned about driving safely from that Toni Braxton video. She wanted you to unbreak her heart, Tyson! Pay attention. (And feel better.) The MTV Beach House will never feel the same.
Editorial Director
