One of my favorite side-stories adjacent to Tom Hiddleston’s unfortunate and poorly-executed W Magazine editorial was that several sites ran side-by-side comparisons between Tom’s shirtless photos and Calvin Harris’s shirtless Armani ads. Calvin Harris became the face/bulge of Armani around the same time that he started up with Taylor Swift. Calvin used to be just a skinny, lanky Scottish guy, but he spent several years giving himself a makeover so he could be a “hunk.” And the Armani ads were the logical conclusion, I suppose. They were part of The Selling of Calvin Harris. He was a “hunk” and “the most popular, successful and wealthiest DJ in the world.” And he was Taylor Swift’s equal. But here’s a question: did Taylor help Calvin get the Armani campaign? And now that Calvin & Swifty are over, did the Armani people fire him?

Calvin Harris has suffered another high-profile break-up. But this time he won’t be looking for another girlfriend, just some new underwear. I can reveal the superstar DJ has cut ties with fashion powerhouse Armani after appearing in their billboards last year in nothing but his pants. The move comes just weeks after his split with US singer TAYLOR SWIFT, who I revealed on Thursday last week is now dating Calvin’s fellow Brit TOM HIDDLESTON.

A source said: “Calvin shocked the world by appearing in the raunchy ads and it certainly helped raise his profile. However, it was clearly a one-off as Armani is looking for fresh talent. It’s a mutual decision as Calvin is looking to expand his brand by incorporating his own fashion line. The original campaign benefited both parties.”

GIORGIO ARMANI said at the time: “Calvin Harris is a truly cosmopolitan, dynamic young man who is capable of attracting the masses.”

But their love-in appears short-lived. A spokeswoman for Armani said yesterday: “We currently have no campaigns planned with Calvin.”

Calvin’s own brand status, which has not been affected by his split from Taylor, is still at an all-time high given his major Las Vegas residencies and his status as the world’s No1 club DJ. One thing for certain, should Calvin release his own pants it’s unlikely he’ll base designs on love rival Tom’s “three-in-a-pack” style grandad briefs he wore for a shoot with W Magazine. Live and Let Y-fronts.

[From The Sun]

I kind of love that so many British media outlets are taking swipes at Tom Hiddleston. I bet Hiddles longs for the days when he was just being asked about his poshness. Now everyone in the UK is like, “So, Taylor is paying for all of this, right?” So did Taylor Swift get Calvin Harris the Armani deal, and now that they’re over, the deal is done? Or is it just happenstance that the Armani contract lasted as long as Calvin and Taylor’s relationship? As for the side-by-side comparisons between Calvin and Tom… can we pick neither? While I think the fact that Armani paid Calvin Harris to model somehow “legitimizes” that endeavor, I still don’t know why Tom agreed to those W Magazine photos. How sad is it that Tom’s man-panty photos look like the budget version of Calvin’s Armani ads?

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet, Armani.