January 4
The Italian fashion executive Vittorio Missoni and his wife were on board a twin-engined Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander plane that crashed when heading from Los Roques, off the Venezuelan coast. It wasn’t until October that the Venezuelan authorities recovered the presumed remains of Missoni, along with luggage and belongings.
January 17
The pop icon Rihanna tried her hand at fashion design for the British high-street chain River Island. The singer worked on four collections for the label for each season and showcased the pieces during London’s biannual fashion week.
January 21
The US First Lady Michelle Obama wore a custom-made Jason Wu dress to cap off the second-term inaugural ball weekend. Obama, who has been a supporter of American fashion labels, also wore a piece by Wu for the inaugural ball in 2009.
January 23
The Lebanese fashion designer Zuhair Murad became a guest member at the official Paris couture shows. Murad’s shows have been on the sidelines of the official couture calendar for years. His designs have been worn by celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez and Kristen Stewart.
February 18
Tom Ford debuted the first womenswear show for his eponymous label during London Fashion Week. The designer’s autumn/winter 2013 collection was labelled “cross- cultural multi-ethnic” and featured heavily detailed pieces with bold animal and geometric prints.
February 21
Jennifer Lawrence’s campaign images for Christian Dior were released. Lawrence went on to win the Oscar for Best Actress a few days later for Silver Linings Playbook. The actress wowed us again with her pixie cut on November 6, shortly before the November 22 release of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.
May 6
New York’s annual Costume Institute gala at the Metropolitan Museum featured a controversial theme: punk. Our best-dressed celebrity was Anne Hathaway in Valentino (with slicked-back hair), while our worst-dressed was a very pregnant Kim Kardashian who wore a tight, floral Givenchy gown with a big side slit.
July 1
The French fashion designer Christian Lacroix designed a collection under the label-in-progress Schiaparelli. The pieces were showcased in a presentation during the autumn/winter 2013 couture shows.
October 2
Marc Jacobs left Louis Vuitton after a 16-year stint as the label’s creative director. Jacobs, who began Vuitton’s ready-to-wear collections in 1997, said he wants to focus on his own labels instead. One month later, the label confirmed Nicolas Ghesquière (formerly of Balenciaga) as the new creative director.
October 10 / 15-18
The Vogue Italia Fashion Dubai Experience events kicked off in The Dubai Mall, where designers such as Riccardo Tisci of Givenchy and the supermodel Naomi Campbell made an appearance. Days later, the second season of Fashion Forward brought in runway shows, industry talks and parties; it’s on its way to becoming one of the region’s most important fashion platforms.
November 13
The London-based auction house Sotheby’s sold the world’s largest diamond at a gemstone auction. The piece, known as the Pink Star, weighs 59.6 carats and is graded as a Type IIa, which is rare for pink diamonds. It sold for a record £52 million (Dh314.7m) at the Geneva auction.
November 14
Isabel Marant for H&M was launched. The Parisian label, known for its bohemian take on fashion, recreated some of its signature pieces for its collaboration with the Swedish high-street giant H&M.
December 2
Christopher Kane won the BFA Womenswear Designer of the Year Award, proving his presence on the London fashion scene. In January, the conglomerate Kering (formerly PPR) – which looks after labels such as Gucci, Alexander McQueen and Bottega Veneta – bought a majority stake in Kane’s eponymous label.
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