Style’s Top 10
Valentino retires
When the Italian designer took his last runway bow in January, the world became a little less glamorous. He was the last of the great couturiers (Chanel, Givenchy and Dior long ago lost their founders). And although ex-Gucci designer Alessandra Facchinetti picked up the reins, she was dismissed in October after just three collections. Now, the team behind the successful accessories line is in charge and the future of the label -- which once counted Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Nan Kempner and so many ladies who lunch as fans -- remains to be seen.
Yves Saint Laurent dies
There is virtually nothing about the way we dress or the way we shop today that was not shaped by the fashion revolutionary’s 44-year career. Saint Laurent, who died in June, created the wardrobe of the modern woman (the peacoat, the pantsuit, the peasant blouse), opened our eyes to ethnic beauty and global style, and set us on a course toward the democratization of fashion, even as he elevated haute couture to the realm of fine art.
Fashion gets political
Michelle Obama’s everywoman J. Crew ensembles and divisive Narciso Rodriguez election night dress. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s sisterhood of the traveling pantsuits. Gov. Sarah Palin’s rimless Kawasaki eyeglass frames, red peep-toe Naughty Monkey shoes and $150,000 wardrobe malfunction. Fashion is a campaign issue.
Heels get dangerous
In April, Gwyneth Paltrow goes globe-trotting in 7-inch stilettos to promote her film “Iron Man” and (surprise!) the paparazzi take tons of pictures of her hobbling down red carpets. Meanwhile, at the fall-winter runway shows, the heels are so precarious that models at Prada and Alexander McQueen stumble and fall.
Pregnancy is chic ...
The Hermes Kelly bag rose to fame in 1956 when Grace Kelly used it to hide her pregnancy from photographers. But now, stars let it all hang out in magazines (Milla Jovovich, Christina Aguilera), on the red carpet (Cate Blanchett, Angelina Jolie), even while performing on the concert stage (Jennifer Lopez). Then they proceed to lose their baby weight in record time, just to make the rest of us feel that much worse about ourselves.
... and so are children
Where celebrities once sought to keep their children out of the limelight, now they push them toward it, as a kind of brand extension. Children’s clothes also become more fashionable, with highly styled trench coats and dresses that cost nearly as much as the adult versions. Suri Cruise, who has her own mini-me versions of Christian Louboutins and Roger Viviers, is the poster child for the trend -- a style icon long before she knows what that means. But Sasha and Malia Obama are gaining fast.
Boyfriend jean replaces skinny jean
After so many years of sausage-casing legs, denim loosens up, thanks to L.A.-based label Current/Elliott (stylists Emily Current and Meritt Elliott)and trend-setting celebs Reese Witherspoon and Katie Holmes, who were among the first to step out in baggy, peg-leg jeans over the summer.
‘Sex and the City’ returns to the screen
Stylist Patricia Field, who did the costumes for the TV series and the film, which opened in May, helped make Jimmy Choo a household name and Fendi baguettes a sensation. But more than that, she brought fashion into our living rooms like never before. We waited four years for the film (with Kristin Davis, left, Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon), and though the clothes were higher-priced than those in the series, they weren’t any less fun to look at. And Carrie’s studded status belt is still an influence in stores and on the streets.
‘Gossip Girl’ becomes the new ‘Sex and the City’
The CW show elevates private-school girls to fashion-plate status, with an online feature that lets viewers find out about Blair (Leighton Meester, right) and Serena’s latest duds. Is it any wonder that, come fall, we were wearing penny loafers, schoolboy blazers, knee socks and plaid?
Goth returns
Lancome, Yves Saint Laurent and Dior do black lip gloss, L.A. fashion house Rodarte shows slashed knits on the runway, the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York hosts a “Gothic: Dark Glamour” exhibit and legions of young fans embrace the vampire movie “Twilight.” Black is the new black. Which means the future has to be bright.
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