Another year of fashion has gone by and now it is time to make a recap! 2012 saw some new additions and a few fashion trends comebacks. But all in all during the last 12 months things in the fashion industry were quite lively. We offer you 10 highlights of the 2012 fashion.
Trials & Tribulations
In 2012, high fashion brands often changed their leading designers. After a long search, Dior managed to replace John Galliano with Raf Simons. Later in the year, the position of Stefano Pilati, the creative director of Yves Saint Laurent was taken by designer Hedi Slimane (who, by the way, used to work for Dior Homme).
This autumn, things got a little ugly after New York Times critic Cathy Horyn was not allowed to go to the Saint Laurent show. Horyn decided to revenge the brand with a negative review published on the website of the newspaper. That, however, triggered some Twitter hate from Slimane which continued for a few days.
Fashion Shopping Got More Sophisticated
The long-lasting trend for clothes and accessory shopping from combined stores is over. Women now prefer to buy their fashion items from top-quality stores which specialize in this activity.
Fashion Got Manly
2012 will remain in history as the year of the first fashion week dedicated entirely to menswear. The show was held in the U.K. That resulted in a more manly British fashion. In addition, the largest department for men’s shoes was opened this year. The store occupies the amazing 10,000 square feet.
2012 – Where Sport and Fashion Meet
This was the year of the London Olympics. The 2012 Olympics were one of the biggest and most glamorous events in the last couple of years. Unlike previous Olympics, in 2012 fashion entered sport. There was an interesting emphasis on style in the suits and the apparels of the different national teams. Fashion hubs like Italy, France and the U.K. invited some of their most renowned designers to create a stylish look for their teams. That is the story how athletes became fashion icons.
Midriffs are Back
Bare midriffs, which were popular throughout the 80s and the 90s, made a surprising comeback. Many Hollywood celebrities enjoyed following this new old trend and started to reveal the upper part of their fit stomachs. Among them were famous ladies like Rihanna, Diana Kruger and Kristen Steward.
Models Grew Old… Very Old
When they hear the word “model”, most people imagine a skinny teenager. However, this year the runway was taken over by some older models. For example, in its Autumn/Winter campaign, Lanvin included a woman at 62 years. Also, fashion icon Iris Apfel aged 91 took part in a MAC advertisement. In addition, to that Vogue promised to work only with models who are older than 16.
New Fashion Pet
Designers and fashion icons are known for their love for mini dogs. Brix Smith-Start, Tom Ford, Marc Jacobs all use their dogs like a fashion accessory. However, in 2012 fashion gurus preferred cats. Karl Lagerfeld first got one and he even opened a special Twitter profile for his pet. Later Kim Kardashian started walking around with a little kitten called Mercy.
China – An Emerging Fashion Hub?
Earlier in the year, there was an interesting prognosis according to which China was to become the largest luxury market on the globe by 2020. That pushed famous brands and designers to look in a new direction. Louis Vuitton and Giorgio Armani were among the first who started to court the Asian country with lavish fashion shows and events.
The Death of the Heels
For years, heels were part of fashion. However, in 2012 things finally changed and both designers and consumers welcomed the flats. Even Victoria Beckham, who is famous for her love for extremely high heels, was seen wearing flat shoes.
France is back on the Fashion Map
This year French celebrities ruled a big part of the fashion trends. Various singers, editors and even politicians were often pointed as style references in fashion mags.
