Alexander McQueen Moves Forward

Goodbye Mr. McQueen, hello Ms. Burton. Long live McQueen.

Style.com covered the passing of Alexander McQueen and the showing of the final collection he designed, but something that was equally important this year was the success of Sarah Burtonâ€s first show as the new designer for the McQueen label. The passing of such a genius creative mind was indeed tragic, and the showing of McQueenâ€s last collection was a special moment, but Burtonâ€s signal that the brand can honor McQueenâ€s legacy while moving forward was absolutely stellar.

John Gallianoâ€s Dior Couture Wows

Dior haute couture was in full bloom this year when John Galliano showed his Spring 2011 collection of flower-inspired looks. The imagery and execution of the designs combined with the high, tulip-like hair of the models for a full package display of gorgeousness and perhaps our favorite moment in fashion of 2010.

Gaga is very well-known for her avoidance of pants. This past Sunday night, scores of Hollywood stars gathered at the MTV Europe Awards, and here’s a scorecard of how many celebs took a lesson from the Lady and went pants-less at some point during the event:

Katy Perry, who sported a white leotard for her performance of Firework, Eva Longoria two separate times as host of the show, Miley Cyrus while performing Who Owns My Heart, Ke$ha on the red carpet and Taylor Momsen also on the red carpet (who, whether she realized it or not, actually ripped right off Gaga with an underwear beneath a coat and boots look). Plus, Longoria also dressed as a ham at one point, though her costume was not actually made of raw meat. {The Cut}

Quite a list, no? Now you might argue that Gaga did not actually start the pants-less thing since Cher has been known to go without them and even Madonna rocked a few leotard looks in her day, but these stars never really seemed to inspire as many others to take on the look too.

With winter fast approaching, we’re not sure how popular the no pants movement will be in the mass market. As far as celebrity fashion though, Lady Gaga’s definitely setting the trends.

We love Lady Gaga. Like, Goddess worship, crazy fan-boy, girl crush love her. And part of that love comes from a fascination with and delight in almost everything she wears. We thought she had long passed the point of shocking the world with her fashion choices, but last night we were shocked, and no, not by the meat dress. Actually, raw meat was the least surprising thing she wore.

This Sunday evening, the Gaga did not steal the show at the MTV Video Music Awards. Any show she attends is always hers already, so at the VMAs she merely took her usual place in the brightest spotlight, capturing eight Moonmen, including the award for Video of the Year with “Bad Romance.” She also revealed the name of her upcoming new album, Born This Way, and belted a few lines from the title song. {New York Daily News}

In addition to all of that, Lady Gaga changed outfits three times. One of those outfits was an entire ensemble made of raw meat, reminiscent of the bikini she recently sported on the cover of Vogue Hommes Japan. {Styleite}

For those wondering what that was all about, Gaga explained her meat garments to Ellen DeGeneres in an interview taped last night for the season premier of her talk show, which airs today. {USA Today}

“It is certainly no disrespect to anyone that is vegan or vegetarian,” Gaga said. “As you know, I am the most judgment-free human being on the earth. However, it has many interpretations, but for me this evening, if we don’t stand up for what we believe in and if we don’t fight for our rights, pretty soon we’re going to have as much rights as the meat on our own bones. And I am not a piece of meat.”

A vegetable or fruit creation from Fulvio Bonavia would have balanced the nutritional content, but there’s always another awards show.

Okay, now forget the meat dress. Look at the other two outfits Gaga wore last night. Now take away both hats. Without the spike-y head pieces, these two dresses are almost …. tame. Normal. Gaga and normal. Same sentence. And there you have the shock factor.

Since everyone from Kristen McMenamy to Kelly Osbourne has been spotted showing off gray hair recently, the aged hair color Gaga chose for the occasion does not make these ensembles outlandish. Plus, we already saw her with grey hair on the cover of Vanity Fairâ€s September issue. So, in stark contrast to her shocking performance of Paparazzi at last yearâ€s VMAs, Gaga has gone regular this year.

And you know what else – weâ€re not mad at it. For quite some time now it has seemed the only way for Gaga to continue her habit of wowing the world would be to wear something totally un-noteworthy. The McQueen dress she wore down last nightâ€s red carpet (the same one she wore in the September issue of Vanity Fair) and the black dress she wore later in the night were the perfect choice – just quirky enough to maintain the Gaga essence, but sane enough to make us sit bolt upright in our seats.

Genius. Go Gaga.