Fashion

Ben Affleck is on top of the world lately -- making movies with his best bud, and having his wife star in films he's producing ... which he says is the pinnacle of success and happiness.

The actor-director sat down with CBS Sunday Morning for a chat about his new movie, "Air" which follows the story of Nike signing Michael Jordan to his legendary shoe deal ... and which just debuted at SXSW this weekend to rave reviews and thunderous applause.

The film stars Ben and Matt Damon, and the reunion has truly had a shining effect on BA -- as you can tell in this interview. He talks about how chasing money in showbiz (or any biz, really) isn't the key to fulfillment, as he says he's found out.

Instead, he says he's realized that right now ... he's at his most joyous. That's because he loved coming to work for this "Air" flick -- hanging out with his childhood BFF and collaborating, seeing his kids more often and doing projects he's actually passionate about.

That brings the convo to Ben and Matt's new productions company -- Artists Equity -- which guarantees the ancillary crew members a bigger cut of the pie ... unlike traditional studios.

"Air" is AE's first movie (which is being distributed by Amazon) and they already have another sports biopic in the works ... which will star Jennifer Lopez. Ben addresses the apparent nepotism here in the interview ... and insists he got the best actors for the job, her included.

There's more in the full interview ... like what MJ himself wanted in terms of demands. One of those asks, as Ben shares, was that Viola Davis play his mom -- and she does.

Jennifer Lopez is doing a juggling act ... she celebrated the launch of her shoe collection in Bev Hills Saturday, as she and Ben Affleck are scrambling to buy a house before the end of the month because the financial consequences are HUGE.

Lots of stars showed up to support JLo, including Tiffany Haddish, Hailey and Chloe Bailey. and others.

The event was packed, and JLo mingled with them all ... with security, of course.

Ben was actually a no-show... he was at the premiere of his new flick, "AIR" at SXSW.

Elizabeth Banks' looks over the years are aca-awesome!

Here is a fresh 27-year-old version of the "Pitch Perfect" star gracing her natural beauty at a UNICEF For Fashion event in Los Angeles back in 2001 (left). This was just a couple of years before she played Marcela Howard in the film "Seabiscuit."

And, 22 years later, the actress and filmmaker looked picture-perfect and dressed to the nines at this year's Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Beverly Hills, California. She learned how to be quite critical during her "Pitch Perfect" days as Gail the commentator, so the imperative question here is ...

Taylor Swift hit the stage Friday night for the first time in 3 years to kick off her much-anticipated 'Eras Tour' ... and she blew the house down!!!

The iconic pop star was greeted by thousands of screaming fans at her sold-out show at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

It was a HUGE moment for Taylor, whose last tour was derailed by the COVID pandemic after the release of her album, "Lover."

Taylor addressed the issue about an hour into her performance, telling the crowd, “Is it just me or do we have a lot of things to catch up on? It’s been a really long time since I’ve been on tour."

She continued, “I can’t even go into how much I’ve missed you...because there’s no way to verbalize it.”

At another point, Taylor admitted she was “really overwhelmed, and trying to keep it together all night.”

The emotional moments were just some of the many highlights during Taylor's three-hour-plus performance in which she cranked out an eye-popping 44 songs from her 10 hit albums.

She played fan faves from her earliest to her latest records, such as “You Belong With Me," “Shake It Off," “Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince,” “Cruel Summer”, Ready For It?,” “Delicate," "Willow," "Fearless," "Enchanted" and "Midnight Rain."

Of course, Taylor went through a number of wardrobe changes meant to reflect the many changes she's gone through over the years. She had a bevy of dancers shimmying around her and riding "Tron"-esque light cycles as she belted out her tune, “Blank Space.” Taylor and Co. also channeled the famous Rockettes, throwing around high kicks during "22."

The stage itself extended to the back of the stadium with an artistic set design that included a gold version of the cabin featured in her video for "cardigan." There were also film images projected on a Jumbotron behind the stage.

Avril Lavigne is looking iced out these days ... and the new, flashy jewelry around her neck comes courtesy of her new bf, Tyga.

Eric Mavani, a celebrity jeweler out of New York City, tells TMZ ... Tyga gifted Avril the custom diamond chain Thursday, and the piece is worth $80K.

Avril's already posted selfies flaunting the chain and was spotted wearing it Thursday night in Los Angeles.

We're told the bling features 50 carats of white diamonds, black diamonds and pink sapphires. Diversity matters! 💎😂

As you can see, the chain features several pendants ... one with Avril's first name, two with the letter "A" imposed over a pink heart, and a pair of skulls and crossbones with pink ribbons.

We're told Tyga reached out to Eric three weeks ago, right before Paris Fashion Week, to make the piece.

The timing is worth noting ... because Tyga and Avril started hanging out a lot more when they were in Paris, kissing for the cameras and strolling through the streets hand in hand.

TMZ broke the story ... Tyga and Avril are still in the early stages of dating, and they're not putting any labels ... like girlfriend/boyfriend on anything, at least not yet.

It will be interesting to see if the expensive diamond gift changes that.

A hilarious moment went down during the NCAA tournament on Friday ... when Baylor men's basketball player Dale Bonner was checking into the game against UC Santa Barbara -- but his jersey was inside out!!

The wardrobe malfunction happened Friday at the Ball Arena in Denver ... where the Bears were playing the Gauchos in the first round of the tourney. Bonner was set to sub in for one of his teammates in the first half of the matchup -- but, unfortunately, his BAYLOR jersey looked more like ROLYAB.

Bonner initially didn't notice the mistake ... as referees had to delay the game to tell him that he was rocking his jersey on the wrong side.

Bonner quickly corrected himself and got the jersey on correctly ... as everyone on the court stood around and waited for him to get it together.

The commentators referenced the gaffe during the broadcast ... attributing the mishap to possible March Madness jitters.

The tourney is known for its wild moments ... but no one could've predicted this one.

Travis Scott's skills as a fashion innovator are coming under fire by Dennis Rodman ... who's accusing the superstar rapper of copying the look of his signature sneakers.

Dennis went after Travis at Got Sole's recent sneaker convention in Chicago as the NBA champ pointed out his high-top kicks originated the reverse Nike Swoosh logo before Travis' model hit the market.

The Worm's Nike Air Darwin shoe dropped in 1994, shortly before his days of playing with Michael Jordan and the Bulls. Travis and Jordan Brand connected for his popular mocha-colored AJ1 Retro High OG sneakers in 2019.

Dennis didn't seem to be a fan of Travis' shoe, and said he just wants his credit for putting out the design first.

Slim Thug’s key to staying rich is avoiding spending sprees on fancy clothes -- the Houston Boss Hogg admits he has no issue rocking discount threads ... even in da club.

Slim gave his fans a masterclass -- with more than a dash of homophobia, though -- as he chastised dudes who flock to clubs wearing the same expensive designer outfits.

In his post Thursday, he said he keeps it playa for just pennies, and proved it ... yanking the price tags of his top and shorts to reveal he'd dropped less than $20 for both.

Seems like price isn't his only issue -- he also mentioned gay designers make all those high-priced clothes. Basically, Slim thinks Dior and Gucci shirts make people look gay.

Um, WTH? 🤔

Hard to take his advice on saving cash, since he also bragged about dropping millions on jewelry to distract from his frugal fashion choices.

ST says he's seen many rappers go broke splurging on their wardrobes. Yeah, we're sure it's the clothing bill and not the bling.

Anyway, fans found Slim's message confusing ... considering the rapper's selling cargo pants for $75 on his own website!!!

DJ Khaled can now add "model" to his always-growing résumé ... after making his runway debut at Hugo Boss’ fashion show last night in Miami.

Khaled bravely risked becoming a trending topic as he floated across a wet and slippery catwalk ... but never lost his footing, even while he escorted supermodel icon Naomi Campbell to the finish line.

After the show, Khaled celebrated with his team like they just won a championship, but he was likely most happy not to fall on his face.

The "We The Best" mogul shared the runway with other high-profile figures ... Pamela Anderson, Amber Valletta, Candice Swanepoel and celebrity stylist Law Roach ... who made his first public appearance after announcing his retirement due to "political corruption" within the fashion industry.

Vogue magazine praised everyone for braving the event's high winds but Khaled has officially been bit by the model bug.

Expect him to be back!!!

It's like Fashion Week ... for space, as NASA unveils the freshly designed spacesuits its astronauts will be rocking on the moon.

Axiom Space designed the new look, and NASA proudly flaunted it Wednesday at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX -- the sleek new suits were primarily designed for the Artemis lunar missions scheduled for 2025.

The new suit is called Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit, or AxEMU, and it's way more flexible than the old bulky suits worn for over 50 years -- and they can be worn by men and women. Big diff from the Apollo missions of the '60s and '70s.

Fun fact: NASA says the new suits would fit at least 90% of the folks in the U.S.

You'll recall, NASA initially pulled the plug on the first all-female spacewalk back in 2019 ... all because the existing suits couldn't fit the 2 women heading to space.

Although they eventually did make the spacewalk in October 2019, it was clear the space agency needed a new vision for its spacesuits.

NASA enlisted Axiom last year to fix the problem, and they sound thrilled with the end result.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson says, "Axiom's next generation spacesuits will not only enable the first woman to walk on the Moon, but they will also open opportunities for more people to explore and conduct science on the Moon than ever before."

BTW, don't get used to that black and orange color pattern ... Axiom noted that's just to show off its logo. The final version will likely be all-white to reflect the intense heat astronauts are exposed to in space.

A$AP Rocky is not among those who have an issue with Tems blocking the view of the people sitting behind her at the Oscars ... his reaction is quite the opposite.

We got the rapper and a very pregnant Rihanna leaving lunch at Bottega Louie in West Hollywood on Wednesday and we asked the parents about Tems' controversial outfit.

A$AP can only laugh at the people ripping Tems on social media for being rude ... and Rihanna seems to have similar feelings.

It's worth noting ... Tems was at the Oscars because of her musical work on 'Wakanda Forever' ... the Nigerian singer is a co-writer on a song RiRi performs for the movie.

So, there may be some bias here from Rihanna and A$AP.

Tems stood out at the Oscars, blocking the view of people sitting behind her ... and while the folks there were polite, Twitter gave her an earful.

The Nigerian singer -- who was on hand Sunday for her musical work on 'Wakanda Forever' -- had one of the more noticeable getups at the award show ... a massive white dress that was jutting out and upward at her shoulders, which made her look like a human flower.

The problem ... when she sat down, her 'fit sorta caused a big distraction -- both onscreen for viewers, and certainly for everyone else sitting in the rows behind her.

During the broadcast, there were several moments where you could see the people right behind Tems peering over her shoulder to get a glimpse of the stage or of Kimmel. It was pretty funny ... they were obviously challenged by her dress and had to do peek-arounds to see the action. It doesn't appear anyone said anything to her.

The same can't be said for the bird app ... 'cause a lot of users there were pretty angry at the fact that she wore something so big, and which would presumably cause some blind spots in the theater. A bunch called it "rude" ... others found it hilarious. Mixed bag.

Hollywood's most famous faces are touching down at the Dolby Theater ahead of the 2023 Oscars -- and it looks like they decided to go traditional this year ... with some elegant 'fits.

Check out all the stars who have arrived in L.A. so far ... posing for the cameras as they head inside and grab their seat, and flexing their outfits. As you can see, just about all the hotshots -- namely, the actors who are nominated -- went with fairly classic looks.

Dudes in black and white tuxes ... and the ladies are in gorgeous gowns of varying color. Must say, everyone's dressed to impress -- and the aesthetic is certainly Oscar worthy.

As for who's made their showcase at this point ... Austin Butler, Angela Bassett, Jamie Lee Curtis, Brendan Fraser, Ana de Armas, Kerry Condon, Stephanie Hsu, Jonathan Majors, Danai Gurira, Zendaya, Sandra Oh, Florence Pugh, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Mescal, Paul Dano, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Sigourney Weaver, Halle Bailey, Idris Elba, Antonio Banderas and more.

Some of these folks are up for actual Oscars, but a vast majority of them are presenting tonight's awards. There are at least 40 A-listers who've been tapped to hit the stage and hand out statuettes ... so Dolby is going to be absolutely packed with talent everywhere.

The odds-on favorite to make a clean sweep in just about every category is 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' -- with Michelle Yeoh and Ke He Huy Quan leading the charge. They just got there in person ... but are quite clearly the beloved Oscar darlings this season.

There's a lot to look forward to, but the one thing that just about everyone is waiting to see is how host Jimmy Kimmel addresses last year's Oscars slap ... which he's said he'll do.

We're just under an hour out from showtime, and there's more celebs rolling in by the minute. The stage is set, and the champagne-colored carpet is rolled out/being trotted on.

Five-star hoops prospect Kiyomi McMiller -- arguably the top girls H.S. basketball player in the country -- tells TMZ Sports she's hoping to get a signature shoe just like Michael Jordan ... after she inked a deal with His Airness' brand last month.

We spoke to the 16-year-old -- a superstar point guard for Life Center Academy in Burlington, NJ -- just a few weeks after she put the pen to paper with Jordan ... and she told us the historic deal is "pretty crazy."

And, she said that now that she's a part of the MJ roster ... she wants her own line of kicks one day -- perhaps with something that ties into her "The Product" nickname.

She added, though, that her "ultimate goal is to be the greatest of all-time."

Kiyomi's parents coached at a local college when she was young, sparking her love for the game -- and it was actually her father, Mike, who came up with her famous moniker. McMiller said Dad thought of it because he believes she can deliver anything that's needed on the basketball court.

McMiller -- who wears #23 just like Mike -- told us Julius Erving, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Stephen Curry and MJ are her top-five favorite players of all time ... and said the reason she considers Jordan the greatest ever is because he stood out among other NBA greats.

Kiyomi, a junior who's yet to commit to a college, is planning on majoring in communications, sports management or marketing.

We asked McMiller -- whose lethal handles and shiftiness on the court make her a must-see -- what player inspires her game the most ... and she said Kyrie and KD influence how she plays.

President Biden did away with Donald Trump's plans for a new look for Air Force One, and instead stuck with the classic aesthetic ... albeit, with a little shade -- a lighter one, that is.

The Air Force announced a new paint design that'll be applied to POTUS' main ride in the sky, and they say JB has decided to stick with the OG colors that have been around since the '60s, when JFK started using the jumbo jet and blue/white pattern we all know today.

As you can see ... Joe opted for a lighter blue. The way the Air Force describes it though is quite sophisticated ... they chalk up the differences this way ... "The light blue on VC-25B is a slightly deeper, more modern tone than VC-25A's robin's egg blue. Additionally, the VC-25B engines will use the darker blue from the cockpit area vice the VC-25A’s robin’s egg blue."

They also say there's no more polished metal on the new AF1 plane(s) -- which are being manufactured by Boeing -- because modern commercial skin alloys don't allow for it. 🤷🏽‍♂️

To the average bear, there doesn't seem to be much of a difference here -- at least not at first glance, anyway -- but the AF is insisting there are slight tweaks that make the new plane more efficient and effective. It's also a bit sleeker in appearance ... we'll give 'em that.

Now, as far as what the ex-Prez wanted a few years back -- namely, a completely different color scheme and design that resembled our national flag -- the Air Force says it wasn't going to work out due to technical difficulties and time. An easy decision for Biden, it seems.

Here's how the AF describes the problem with Trump's preference back then ... "The Air Force previously displayed a red, white, and blue livery for the VC-25B because it had been publicly expressed as a preferred livery in 2019. A thermal study later concluded the dark blue in the design would require additional Federal Aviation Administration qualification testing for several commercial components due to the added heat in certain environments."

Versace's fashion show was an absolute hit -- despite a last minute call to move it up one day -- with some of the biggest names in Hollywood dressing to the nines to attend.

The fall/winter show wound up getting rescheduled from Friday to Thursday due to rain -- it was an outdoor event on the roof of the Pacific Design Center in WeHo. Based on the turnout ... everyone cleared their schedules.

Among folks in the building ... Dua Lipa, Miley Cyrus, Channing Tatum, Anne Hathaway, Lil Nas X, Allison Williams, Pamela Anderson, Matt Bomer, Ke Huy Quan, Lily James, Gabrielle Union and hubby Dwyane Wade, and Jeff Bezos and partner Lauren Sanchez.

Paris Hilton attended with her sister Nicky and mom Kathy ... as well as Demi Moore and  her daughter Rumer Willis -- and Elton John, Cher and her fiancé Alexander Edwards had front-row seats.

The models for the highly-anticipated show were also A-list ... Gigi Hadid opened the runway action, while Naomi Campbell, Emily Ratajkowski and Kendall Jenner also did their thing.