Like it could be anyone else. 2011 was the year that Beyonce stepped up to run the world. She dominated Glastonbury as the first female headliner in 25 years, released the multi-platinum , brought her fashion line to London Fashion Week, and, oh—she did most of this whilst pregnant. Something tells us Queen B may have an even bigger 2012.
Fashion felt—well, cuter—this year, thanks to a few small bundles of joy. Harper Seven Beckham, Kate Hudson’s son Bing Bellamy, Jessica Alba’s baby Haven Warren, Rachel Zoe’s Skyler Berman, and Lily Allen’s tot gave us reasons to smile. The cutest of them all? We don’t like to choose favourites, but it’s gotta be Miranda Kerr and Orlando Bloom's wee Flynn. Aw... See our Maternity Style File
Burberry brought digital rain, a busload of top models and Brit band Keane to Beijing for a special-effects-laden spectacular in April. The show was the first of many signs that luxury fashion’s future lies in the east. Elsewhere, Christian Dior mounted a couture show in Shanghai, Alexander McQueen opened a boutique in Beijing and Prada went public on the Hong Kong stock exchange. Despite disappointing post-IPO performance, Prada expects its China sales to triple over the next two to three years.
Unleashing groans amongst fashion workers who hate to see the worst stereotypes about their industry confirmed, the four style capitals still can’t agree on dates for the S/S ’13 show season. Briefly: first Milan thought New York was starting too late, then New York and London agreed to move their dates earlier IF Paris would agree, then Paris scuppered the deal by saying ‘non’ to every point of the compromise. We’re sure we’ll see you at the shows, if only someone could tell us when they’re happening.
Elizabeth Taylor passed away at age 79 in March after a struggle with congestive heart failure. The consummate movie star left a legion of fans and a legendary collection of jewels. Her necklaces, rings and earrings set a new record by selling for more than £74m at auction in New York. We also lost singer Amy Winehouse, philanthropist Evelyn Lauder and Apple founder Steve Jobs, who did more than anyone to transform and democratise the front-row fashion experience through the proliferation of iPhones and iPads.
What’s short and tight and blinged all over? The Versace for H&M collection launched in glorious ostentation in November, with a little help from Nicki Minaj, Prince and a host of model friends (plus Kanye, who wore a jacket from the range to perform at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show). Donatella Versace personally oversaw the opening of the store doors in London. Next up?
Every runway had its leading lady this year. Lady Gaga provided the soundtrack and the swagger at Nicola Formichetti’s debut outing at Mugler. And Kate Moss? She stole the show when she sashayed down Louis Vuitton’s A/W ’12 catwalk, smoking a cigarette and leaving an arena of dropped jaws in her wake.
The Costume Institute’s posthumous retrospective of Alexander McQueen’s work broke every record for attendance at a fashion exhibition. More than 650,000 people visited the show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art—but was it enough to lure the show to London?
Christian Louboutin saw red over Yves Saint Laurent’s use of crimson soles, taking the rival fashion house to court over the right to deploy his trademark flourish. Rather than passing down an injunction, the New York judge presiding over the case called the very basis of Louboutin’s trademark into question. With an appeal pending, other colour-linked brands, like Tiffany, are watching and waiting. Hermes, meanwhile, faced a share buying campaign by LVMH. The Birkin maker
Despite the weddings of two other proper royals (Zara Phillips and Monaco’s Charlene Wittstock, if you require a reminder), our thoughts veered toward a different sort of royalty. 2011 was the year that fashion and showbiz types couldn’t wait to say ‘I do’. Kate Moss, Lily Allen, Sofia Coppola, Lily Aldridge and Josephine de la Baume walked down aisles from California to the Cotswolds, with
Who doesn’t love a wedding? From the announcement of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s engagement in November 2010 to the big event on 29 April, the people of Britain couldn’t get enough. The royal wedding catapulted Kate from commoner to Duchess of Cambridge, and sent Sarah Burton’s star stratospheric. The Alexander McQueen designer created a gown that was everything a royal wedding gown should be, and then some. When the gown went on display at Buckingham Palace, ticket fees raised £10m for charity. Plus, Pippa’s butt. Need w
In early 2011, John Galliano walked into the La Perle bar in Paris’s Marais district as the creative director of Christian Dior and John Galliano. He left having undermined decades of work as a designer in the course of a drunken, video-recorded anti-Semitic rant.
Within weeks, Dior sacked the couturier for ‘odious behaviour’, the house of Galliano released its founder, and the man who toppled from fashion’s dizziest heights retreated to rehab. He emerged months later to attend a trial for racism charges that ended with a ‘guilty’ verdict and suspended €6,000 fine.
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