Actor Antonio Banderas poses with a group of dressforms at Central Saint Martins, where he is studying fashion design. According to his Instagram, the program is “Intense, exciting, serious and fun”.
Antonio Banderas is back in the news. It's not due to a new film or a new romance, but a Tweet he sent out a couple of weeks ago. The 55-year-old actor posted a picture of himself surrounded by dressmaker's dummies, stating that he was in his second week of studies at the famed Central Saint Martins in London. Banderas explained to the hosts of Loose Women (a British equivalent to The View) that studying fashion has been on his mind for a long time, adding that he had no plans of abandoning his acting career in the near future. Banderas's news sparked comparisons to Kanye West, who attended the same school a few years ago to much hoopla.
Another star who cut her teeth in a design classroom is Melissa McCarthy, who attended Parsons School of Design before dropping out at the age of 20 to pursue standup comedy. She has recently returned to her fashion roots with Melissa McCarthy Seven7, a line of casual basics ranging from size four to 28, which are in stock at Nordstrom. Fellow funny girl Rebel Wilson will be showing off her design skills this November with a capsule collection for the plus-size fashion brand Torrid.
Academy Award winners are not exempt from fashion dabbling. Reese Witherspoon launched Draper James this year, a lifestyle website and clothing line inspired by Southern "grace and charm." Witherspoon's Pinterest-worthy florals and ginghams are almost the antithesis to Gwyneth Paltrow's GOOP, known for its minimalist aesthetic. Paltrow, who has collaborated with Stella McCartney, Diane von Furstenberg and, most recently, Canadian active-wear label Lolë, announced the imminent launch of her own clothing line under the GOOP umbrella.
While the number of Hollywood folk trying their luck in fashion has exponentially risen in the last few years, the concept can be credited to Gloria Swanson, who launched her clothing line, Forever Young, in 1951. The silver screen icon's frocks (still kicking around on Etsy) successfully graced the racks for three decades until her death in the early eighties. In a strange twist worthy of a cinematic tale, could Banderas be the next heir to Hollywood's fashion legacy?