This year’s fashion’s Oscars, the Met Gala, was another spectacular evening that showcased amazingly gorgeous gowns. Here’s our pick of top 2012 Met Gala gowns:
The French actress, Marion Cotillard, look absolutely stunning in her Dior gown. We love the sheerness and playfulness on this textured dress.
Anna Wintour looked exceptionally sophisticated in a Schiaparelli-inspired Prada dress. We love the lobster detail on her gown.
From the beaded detail on her gown, to the deco earrings and rich lipstick, Camilla Belle was a classic beauty in Ralph Lauren.
True to her Girl with a Dragon Tattoo alter-ego, Rooney Mara pulled off a gothic yet extremely elegant look in her Givenchy gown.
Who were your favorites at the Met Gala this year?
Valentino, Ferrari, Alessi, Ferragamo – Italy is synonymous with a culture of design. So much so that Prada, one of the most iconic Italian labels, recently took some flack from the blogs for veering from tradition to manufacture several limited edition handbags in India. For spring, we’re pulling in a bit of that Italian design sensibility with the Almas Hi Rise Zip Skinny in Acid Red. The Almas is a skinny cut denim that shows off the legs down below, but comes together up top in a slightly higher rise, perfectly suited to the modern woman (as Refinery 29 asks, who is still buying low rise denim?). But the most exciting part of this style is the Acid Red wash, featuring a beautiful Italian “crackle coating” treatment, which draws upon the colored denim trend and updates it with a bit of extra texture – just the thing to brighten up your mood once winter’s over. And don’t worry, if red’s not quite your thing, the Almas will also come in a black crackle coating called “Night”, an easy, worn-in blue wash called “Ceremonial”, a grey wash called “Rain”, and a clean white wash called “Snowfall”.
It appears we’re trending from the 70’s back to the 50’s and 60’s. Prada showed their Spring 2012 Collection yesterday at Milan Fashion Week, and one of the big influences was 1950’s and 60’s Southern California, an iconic era of customized muscle cars and surfer babes, made forever famous in songs from The Beach Boys, films like Grease, and books by Tom Wolfe.
Some of our favorites from the collection included dresses with hot rod flame details burning up the hem, and the throwback one piece swimsuits that still manage to flatter the figure. Ms. Prada also presented some very literal hot rod prints that could easily double as young boys pajamas, if the silhouette wasn’t so perfectly feminine. She even took the car motif into several pairs of strappy heels with flames shooting out of the proverbial tailpipe.
By the way, we are really loving how accessible the fashion business has become. Once a closed up industry reserved only for the VIPS invited to attend each show, practically every brand is making investments in digital media, streaming the runway walks live from the tents, and exciting a whole new generation of fashionistas. It’s also a fuller picture, as the public gains exposure to the creativity that goes beyond the clothes and into the styling, music and overall show presentation. For example, you can watch the entire Prada Spring 2012 Show right on YouTube:
