Fashion 2011: A Look Back

It's so hard to believe that it's already been a year since I recapped fashion in 2010.  This year has gone by in a blur, but that didn't make it any less thrilling.  Fashion 2011 was filled with tears of sadness, tears of joy, the marriage between two people, the marriage between high fashion and fast fashion, and quite interestingly, two labels that went just a bit too far in their advertising.  Take a look below for a ride down memory lane. 

March 1 - John Galliano is fired from Dior after 14 years at the helm for making anti-Semitic remarks in a leaked video.

March 5 - Haider Ackermann's Fall 2011 show is a triumph, moving many in the crowd to tears..

April 6 - Christophe Decarnin officially steps down from Balmain after 6 years at the label, following his failure to show up at the end of his Fall 2011 show due to being hospitalized for depression.  Olivier Rousteing is later confirmed to take over.

April 29 - The biggest wedding of the century takes place in Westminster Abbey, between Kate Middleton and Prince William.  The world watches with eager eyes, and is rewarded with a Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen dress, and two kisses.

May 4 - The Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty exhibit opens at The Metropolitan Museum of Art to record-breaking success.  It also symbolizes the year of rebirth for Alexander McQueen under Sarah Burton.

May 9 - Clare Waight Keller takes over at Chloé after Hannah MacGibbon, who has been at Chloé for the past 10 years, announces she is leaving Chloé to pursue other projects.

June 17 -  Jean-Paul Gaultier's retrospective, The Fashion World of Jean-Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk, opens in the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, chronicling the work of fashion's enfant terrible from the 1970s to modern day.

July 1 - Other fashion royalty Kate Moss marries Jamie Hince in a John Galliano dress.

It seems modeling never ends, with wedding photos shot by Marino Testino featured in the pages of Vogue.

July 13 - Sarah Jessica Parker leaves Halston Heritage as president and CEO after a year and a half, along with designer Marios Schwab.

August 31 - Karl Lagerfeld for Macy's is released, with 45 pieces ranging from $50 - $170 hitting 235 Macy's stores.

September - Controversy rises over the global Fashion Week schedule change.  New York pushes back its Fashion Week by a week to avoid the Labour Day weekend, and London duly does the same, but Milan refuses to follow suit.  Milan's Fashion Week clashes with New York for a day, while it overlaps London's entire Fashion Week.  Only Paris remains unaffected.  The messy schedule change causes massive fashion headaches.

September 13 - Missoni for Target is released, and crowds go crazy for classic Missoni knits, patterns, and colours.

October 1 - Kanye West's highly anticipated fashion line, Dw by Kanye West, debuts in Paris Fashion Week.

October 5 - Topshop makes its foray into Canada with the opening of its first capsule collection at The Bay in Toronto.

October 25 - Oliver Theyskens is officially announced as the artistic director of Theory, now the most sought-after label for cool girls hunting down easy basics.

November 9 - Marc Jacobs' Oh, Lola! ad with Dakota Fanning is banned in the UK for being too provocative.

November 19 - Versace for H&M is released, gracing the masses with sexy Versace prints and dresses.

November 23 - A Miu Miu ad with Hailee Steinfeld is pulled from the UK for showing a teenager in an unsafe, irresponsible situation.

December 1 - François Lesage, head of the last great embroidery atelier in Paris, Maison Lesage, dies at the age of 82.  Lesage has worked with many elite haute couture designers and was the last genuine couture artisan who would attach each bead by hand.

Before I know it, I'll be doing a recap of Fashion 2012, but let's enjoy the last day of 2011 while we can.  Happy New Year everyone!

Image Source: Galliano, Ackermann, Decarnin, Royal, McQueen, Chloe, Gaultier, Moss, Halston, Macy's, Fashion Week, Missoni, Kanye, Topshop, Theory, Lola, H&M, Miu Miu, Lesage