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.

Thatâ€s right folks! Perry had images of funnyman beau Russell Brandâ€s face painted on her finger nails for the occasion. {E! Online} She told Ellen DeGeneres in a post-show interview that she did it because he could not attend the VMAs with her since he was shooting an upcoming movie in New York.

What do you think? Awwwww! Or Whaaaaaaat?

We werenâ€t sure what to make of it, but Ms. Teenage Dream (and Rolling Stone’s September cover girl) did cause us to wonder what else you could have painted on your nails if you really wanted an original manicure.

Turns out the latest trends in nail art are a direct reflection of a younger generationâ€s obsessions – specifically, technology and junk food.

It seems the newest in nail art is having the icon for your favorite Internet browser painted on. Apparently blogger Mamipeko decided to request browser icons be painted on her nails, and the manicurist she went to delivered, using a nude polish as a base and detailing the icons for Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari and Opera. {Walyou}

Considering the information generationâ€s obsession with technology and the Web, we figure it’s not unlikely that this idea will catch on, especially since news has spread through the blogosphere. Many others have already followed suit, requesting the Apple icon, Super Mario Brothers images and the Twitter bird as part of their manicures. {Walyou}

This could take the "I'm a PC" thing in a completely new direction

And if you think that is crazy, get this: photos of a set of manicured nails painted with the logos for various snacks and sodas have been circulating the blogosphere of late as well. You can brand your hands with Doritos, Oreos, Goldfish, Mountain Dew and Dr. Pepper if you so choose. {the gloss}

Since much has been made of the importance of appealing to generation Y for any business to remain relevant into the future, we canâ€t really say technology and junk food nail art is such a bad idea. And compared to Lindsay Lohan’s manicure meltdown, the latest nail expressions are pretty harmless. Besides being obsessed with snacks and the Internet, the current younger generation does seem to be particularly inclined toward wearing T-shirts, handbags, sweatpants and other apparel with brand logos plastered across them, which is another point in this type of manicureâ€s favor. We can, however, point out that if you are a grown, respectable woman this is one trend to highly consider skipping. Unless of course youâ€re Katy Perry.

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.