The New York Times - USA (2020-10-25)

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2020

+

LIFESTYLE RELATIONSHIPS SOCIETY

4 POWER WARDROBE

For superheroes, evolving

attire. BY GEORGE GENE GUSTINES

2 SEASON’S GRIMACING

Decorations filled with anxiety

and nihilism. BY DINA GACHMAN

6 MODERN LOVE

Not seeking a relationship.

Then... BY GREGORY WALTERS

12 MARRIED IN PRISON

A law student and an inmate,

united. BY JENNY BLOCK

The wind was whipping around a makeshift
outdoor SoulCycle studio at Hudson Yards
in Manhattan the other day, but the fashion
designer Michelle Smith pulled off her “Le-
galize Equality” sweatshirt, baring toned
limbs. She was hot. For the second time that
day, she was front row and center in a spin
class taught by her girlfriend, the platinum-
haired star instructor Stacey Griffith.

“You are the pebble, you are the water,

you are the ripple,” Ms. Griffith said into a

headset, as tourists gawked and snapped

pictures and Ms. Smith pedaled diligently.

The power couple had more glamorous

outings before the pandemic — holding

hands leaping into the water on the Côte

d’Azur in France last fall, posing for bikini-

clad selfies on the beach of St. Barts in Feb-

ruary. But an exercise session in a troubled

mall was paradise compared with what Ms.

Smith was going through 18 months ago at a

corporate office in Midtown.

It was April 2019, and some 20 or so men

were bidding for Milly, the contemporary

fashion line known for brightly colored,

boldly patterned dresses that she had built

with Andrew Oshrin, whom she married in

2003 and separated from in 2017.

Carried in Barneys, Saks Fifth Avenue

and Bloomingdale’s, Milly had a flagship

boutique on Madison Avenue. The brand

was a favorite of Jennifer Lopez, Mika

Brzezinski and Michelle Obama, who wore

a white stretch cotton poplin maxi sundress

with a print that conjured the quilts of Gee’s

Bend for her official portrait, by the artist

Amy Sherald.

But even as the portrait was unveiled in

February 2018, showering favor on the de-

signer and the brand, Milly was in trouble.

In its heyday, Milly had generated

Breaking Free of Milly

The successful

clothing brand that

Michelle Smith built

became a ‘crazy

carousel’ she is happy

to leave behind.

New horizons: Michelle Smith

has ditched the print and frou of

Milly for the minimalism of her

new self-named line.

By KATHERINE ROSMAN

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

SIMBARASHE CHA FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Connor Robinson, a 17-year-old British Tik-

Tok star with rosy cheeks and a budding six-

pack, has built a large following by keeping

his fans thirsty. Between the daily drip of

shirtless dance routines and skits about his

floppy hair, Mr. Robinson posts sexually

suggestive curve balls that, he said, “break

some barriers.”

In an eight-second video set to a lewd hip-

hop track by the Weeknd, he and a fellow

teenage boy, Elijah Finney who calls him-

self Elijah Elliot, filmed themselves in a

London hotel room, grinding against each

other as if they’re about to engage in a

make-out session. The video ends with Mr.

Robinson pushed against the tiled wall.

But as racy as the video is, fans are under

no pretense that the two are in the throes of

gay puppy love. Mr. Robinson and Mr.

Finney identify as heterosexual, but as

some TikTok influencers have discovered,

man-on-man action is a surefire way to gen-

erate traffic. Uploaded in February, the vid-

eo has gotten more than 2.2 million views

and 31,000 comments (lots of fire and heart

emoji).

“Normally, I do jokey dance videos and

stuff like that, but it seems like things have

kind of changed now,” Mr. Robinson said

from his bedroom in Cumbria, England,

which is painted forest green to stand out on

TikTok. He estimates that 90 percent of his

nearly one million followers are female.

“Girls are attracted to two attractive guy

Gay? No. ‘Homiesexual.’

Straight young men are

posting suggestive videos with

their buddies on TikTok.

By ALEX HAWGOOD

Foster Van Lear, a 16-year-old

TikTok personality from Atlanta who

has posted kissing videos. CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

DEVIN OKTAR YALKIN FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Some high-rent tenants in the Hamptons

are refusing to pay or leave, invoking state

pandemic protections. Page 7.

The Talk of Montauk

PAT O’MALLEY FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

.