Must Read: Nicki Minaj Covers 'Vogue,' Tom Ford's 'GQ' Exit Interview

These are the stories making headlines in fashion on Thursday.

Nicki Minaj covers Vogue
Nicki Minaj is Vogue‘s December 2023 cover star ahead of the release of her fifth studio album “Pink Friday 2” on Dec. 8. Minaj, the best-selling female rapper of all time, opens up about her son, her road to success and the process of writing and re-mixing “Pink Friday 2.” Photographed by Norman Jean Roy, Minaj wears a Valentino Haute Couture dress with Irene Neuwirth earrings on the cover. “For me the idea of accepting what you can’t change — it just never clicked with me before,” Minaj tells Vogue. “You want to have control over everything, but that’s the easiest way to be unhappy. So now, if I find myself trying to control it all, I try to remember what’s really important. I look in my son’s face, and my whole soul lights up. He has no clue how nerve-racking it’s been for me to be a mother and an artist.” {Vogue/paywalled}

Tom Ford’s GQ exit interview
Tom Ford, who is stepping away from the fashion world, sat down with GQ for an exit interview exploring his entire three-decades-long career, the grief he’s dealt with and his next steps. In 2022, Estée Lauder bought the entirety of Tom Ford’s label for $2.8 billion, and now Ford lives in Palm Beach with his 11-year-old son Jack away from the fashion world. Ford tells GQ the reason he sold his company and now lives in Palm Beach is because of the death of his partner, fashion journalist Richard Buckley, in 2021 after 35 years together and nine years of marriage. Looking to the future, Ford aims to become a full-time filmmaker. “I felt, after 35 years, I had said everything I could say with fashion,” Ford tells GQ‘s global editorial director Will Welch. “It’s important to know when to get off the stage. I loved making the two films that I made. That was the most fun I’ve ever had in my entire life. I’m 62. Hopefully, I’ll remain somewhat together until 82. So I wanna spend the next 20 years of my life making films.” {GQ}

Balenciaga names Michelle Yeoh brand ambassador
Balenciaga announced on Thursday that Michelle Yeoh is its newest brand ambassador. Yeoh stars in the brand’s Spring 2024 campaign alongside fellow brand ambassador PP Krit Amnuaydechkorn as well as friends of the House Malgosia Bela, Arthur Del Beato, Eva Herzigova, Soo Joo Park and Khadim Sock. “I am thrilled to join Balenciaga as a brand ambassador,” Yeoh said in a statement. “For me, fashion is a form of art. It’s not just about a dress but about self-expression, how you feel in the dress, and the values you embody wearing it; it is a way to communicate my work and who I am to the world. Wearing Balenciaga makes me value the artistry and craftsmanship behind every piece.” {Fashionista inbox}

Edward Enninful signs with WME
WME, the longest-running talent agency, announced that it has signed Edward Enninful, British Vogue‘s first Black editor-in-chief. Enninful published his memoir “A Visible Man” in 2022, and WME will handle the film/TV rights for Enninful’s memoir. Enninful will transition to a global advisory role at Vogue in 2024. {Fashionista inbox} 

What happened at Parade
Launched in 2019, underwear brand Parade seemed like Gen Z’s answer to Victoria’s Secret with its playful branding and use of models with varying body types and gender identities. However, Parade’s Soho pop-up, which once had lines around the block, ended up breaking even when it closed for good in December 2022. The brand struggled with funding and was sold to Ariela & Associates International, Fruit of the Loom’s parent company, in August 2023. This move surprised many who witnessed the brand’s meteoric rise in its earlier days, but disagreements between investors, Parade’s board and its founder Cami Téllez over profitability and growth created struggles. “I’m very grateful to all of Parade’s partners and I take full accountability for the investors’ outcome. I’m incredibly proud of the brand and scale this incredible team achieved in under five years,” Téllez said in a statement to Business of Fashion. “In retrospect, it’s clear that the next generation of brands will be capitalised differently, and the era for market share-grabbing, fast-scaling startups is behind us.” {Business of Fashion/paywalled}

How Hermès turned a dog collar into a bag
Thierry Hermès opened his own workshop in Paris in 1832 where he sold harnesses, bridles and saddles, and his grandson Émile-Maurice Hermès expanded the companies offerings to include driving accessories, luggage trunks, clocks, wristwatches and dog collars. Women began wearing the Hermès dog collars as belts and wrist cuffs, and now, Hermès’ new bag Mini Médor Crin bag is inspired by those archival collars. The bag uses blond horsehair shaped by a master wigmaker, palladium-finished metal cabochons and a calfskin belt. {The New York Times/paywalled}

Homepage image: Christopher Polk/WWD via Getty Images

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