2010 Fashion: The Year In Review

State of Modeling

Miranda Kerr’s appearance at Balenciaga’s Spring 2010 show as well as Prada and Louis Vuitton’s use of  other Victoria’s Secret Angels like Alessandra Ambrosio, Adriana Lima and Bar Refaeli were mentioned by Style.com, but the runway diva trends of 2010 warrant a broader discussion of the state of modeling. Not only were older, curvier models seen on runways that are typically reserved for the tall, tiny and teen, plus size girls like  Beth Ditto popped up on the catwalk and the not-quite-plus, not-quite-sample-size Crystal Renn was everywhere from shows to editorials and advertising. We still think these appearances are more the result of designers trying to grab attention than an actual sea change, and 71-year-old Veruschka had similar feelings of being a gimmick after walking the London runway for Giles. Nonetheless, model diversity was a definite 2010 trend. Also worth noting: the battle of the celebrity versus the model for magazine covers raged on this year, with Marion Cotillard grabbing the first French Vogue cover to go to an actress in years – and a September at that.

Lanvin for H&M

Style.com did feature Alber Elbaz’s stunningly popular Lanvin for H&M collection, but we feel it merits more attention than the 3 short lines it was given. In a year when designer collaborations with mass market retailers were a dime a dozen, Lanvin for H&M managed to capture a massive amount of attention (including several posts within the same day on this very Web site). To be fair to Style.com, Lanvin for H&M can actually be summed up in two words: Fashion frenzy.