2011's Style Shakers

OH KATE: The world’s newest fashion icon and royal, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, was photographed shopping at affordable chain stores. Designers talked directly to fans on TV and Twitter, and sold cheap chic collections on eBay, and at H&M, Target and Macy’s. It was the royal wedding of the century (April 29, 2011, to be exact), and Catherine wore Alexander McQueen. The bad boy British designer died last year, but his fashion label has never been more popular thanks to the designs of artistic director Sarah Burton, who is carrying on his legacy.
More than half a million people went to see “Savage Beauty,” the retrospective exhibition of his work, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, kicking off a frenzy among museum curators the world over to come up with more fashion programming.

CURVES ARE BACK: Will give it to Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor for flaunting her full figure in RA.One, something that most Indian women already have. May be, Indian men need to start accepting their original choices once again. Curves are back and how.

AND DON'T FORGET: Colorful designer John Galliano shocked the fashion world and lost his job as creative director at Christian Dior when he unleashed a string of racist, anti-Semitic comments in a bar in Paris in February. He headed for rehab, was judged guilty of breaking French laws and paid a fine. Dior spent the rest of the year searching for his replacement.
The royal wedding propelled Kate’s sister, Pippa, onto the world’s style stage too. (“Hottest bridesmaid ever,” said Us Weekly.) The bag she carried the morning after the wedding sold out in the blink of an eye; her bridesmaid’s dress – also designed by Sarah Burton – was copied by mass market retailers; her backside was lauded and entered in an informal annual competition in Britain for the best bum. Although she didn’t win, the world remains fascinated by Pippa and what she wears. She was even the subject of an hour-long TLC special.

LADY GAGA: Her unique style won accolades from the Council of Fashion Designers of America, which gave her its American Fashion Icon Award in June.

RIHANNA ROCKS: Singer Rihanna made news for one thing or another all year long, wearing interesting clothes (or wearing not enough clothes, which got her booted from a farmer’s field in Ireland during a video shoot). She launched her first perfume, modeled for Armani (for whom she also designed a small capsule collection) and was on the cover of Vogue – a cover, it should be noted, that, along with one featuring Lady Gaga, was credited with helping the magazine increase sales in the first half of the year.