Michelle Obama, with President Obama and President Hu Jintao, in the infamous Alexander McQueen dress.
January 5: Karl Lagerfeld taps Blake Lively as the face for Chanel's Mademoiselle bag.
January 11: Rachel Zoe launches her fashion line and reveals to WWD that she's having a baby boy. (One of my favorite moments in 2011, if we're being completely honest).
January 12: Sears signs on to do another line with the Kardashian trio, dubbed The Kardashian Kollection.
January 19: The new creative director of Thierry Mugler, Nicola Formichetti, enlists Lady Gaga as musical director of his first men's show. (I mean, whatever. But it's still kind of interesting).
January 25: Oscar de la Renta sees red, expressing his disappointment in Michelle Obama's choice to wear a British designer - McQueen - to a state dinner. (With all due respect to Mr. de la Renta, I loved the Alexander McQueen gown Michelle Obama wore that night).
February
Christopher Kane
February 2: Christopher Kane wins the British Fashion Council/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund prize for 2011.
February 8: Ralph Lauren introduces a luxury denim collection that includes a denim tuxedo and a jumpsuit. (Two of my LEAST favorite fashion pieces in the world).
February 11: Lindsay Lohan's leggings line, 6126, is being dropped by stores in the wake of continuing controversies surrounding the troubled actress. (Not exactly noteworthy, but 2011 was definitely interesting in the ever disappointing fall of Lindsay Lohan).
February 17: Michael Kors celebrates his 30th anniversary with a disco diva collection.
February 17: Derek Lam reveals his first crowdsourced collection, done in collaboration with eBay.
February 23: Gucci marks its 90th anniversary.
March
Elizabeth Taylor
March 1: Brit Kim Jones is named men's ready-to-wear designer and style director at Louis Vuitton, joining from Alfred Dunhill, where he was creative director.
March 11: Matthew Williamson is named a guest designer for a special capsule collection at Macy's.
March 17: "It's inhumane." - Azzedine Alaia, regarding the pace of fashion today.
March 24: One of Hollywood's most glittering gems, Elizabeth Taylor, is remembered after dying at age 79.
March 24: Carine Roitfeld announces her first major post-Vogue move - serving as a guest editor and stylist for Barneys New York.
April
Prince William and Kate Middleton, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge
April 28: (My birthday, just saying). Christian Dior stages a retrospective exhibit of its 64 years in Moscow at the Pushkin Museum.
April 29: At last - the big royal wedding day arrives and the world learns that Kate Middleton's dress is designed by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen.
May
"Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty" Exhibit
May 2: The Met's Costume Institute honors the late Alexander McQueen at the annual gala. The exhibition, "Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty," would open May 4 as the biggest opening day ever for the Institute, and the entire museum's second biggest after 2005's "Vincent van Gogh: The Drawings." The exhibition becomes such a success that the museum keeps it open for an extra week. In total, the exhibit attracted 661,509 people, ranking it as the museum's eighth most popular show ever. (I am forever upset that I could not attend).
May 4: Lanvin says it will roll out a children's collection - one with a "superluxurious approach," of course, according to executive vice president Thierry Andretta.
May 6: Patrick Robinson is ousted after four years as creative director of the Gap.
May 9: Karen Elson signs on to design a line of vintage-inspired handbags and shoes for Nine West.
May 12: Kate Winslet is named the Fall 2011 face for St. John Knits, ushering in a new strategy for the company.
May 13: Versace will launch a children's collection that's "high-end, glamourous and colorful with a touch of rock 'n' roll," notes CEO Gian Giacomo Ferraris.
June
Versace for H&M
June 1: In Paris, Dior unveils its first cruise collection in the post-Galliano era, created by the Dior design studio.
June 10: Tory Burch LLC scores a designer victory against online counterfeiters - to the tune of $164 million in damages - from hundreds of operators of Web sites selling fake Tory Burch Reva ballet flats and other footwear, handbags and accessories. While Burch has almost no chance of getting money from the sites, the award is believed to be the largest sum of damages ever issued to a fashion firm in the ongoing battle against online counterfeiters.
June 22: Donatella Versace is the latest designer to link with H&M for a collaboration. The collection will launch in November and be based on heritage Versace designs, particularly the Miami print made famous by her late brother, Gianni.
July
David Beckham and his baby girl, Harper Seven Beckham
July 11: Victoria and David Beckham welcome a baby girl they name Harper Seven - and make the announcement via Twitter.
July 15: Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen launch their handbag collection for The Row, including a gasp-worthy $39,000 alligator backpack at Barneys New York.
July 18: Gwen Stefani partners with Target for a Harahuku Mini collection for babies, children and tweens.
July 27: Express breaks the Guinness World Record for the most people to walk a catwalk, getting 1,243 individuals to traverse a 70-foot runway set up in Times Square before its holiday fashion show. The previous record was established by Galeries Lafayette in Paris in 2010, when 521 people walked a catwalk.
August
Giambattista Valli for Impulse Only at Macy's
August 1: Gucci launches an app for the iPad and iPhone.
August 11: Zale Corp. and Vera Wang partner for Vera Wang Love, a diamond jewelry collection.
August 15: Barneys New York announces a multifaceted holiday campaign collaboration with Lady Gaga, called Gaga's Workshop.
August 18: Macy's and Giambattista Valli collaborate on a mouthful of a collection: Giambattista Valli for Impulse Only at Macy's.
August 19: Oscar de la Renta reveals he will create his first fragrance in a decade, dubbed Live in Love.
August 26: Zac Posen schedules his Spring 2012 collection in New York after showing in Paris for the two prior seasons.
August 31: Karl Lagerfeld creates a 45-piece limited-edition collection for Macy's. It debuts online and in over 200 stores. (I added this one to the list as well. I thought it was important).
September
Rachel Zoe
September 9: Tweens mob Dolce & Gabbana's Madison Avenue store to see Justin Bieber on Fashion's Night Out.
September 13: Rachel Zoe shows her first collection during New York Fashion Week.
September 14: Target's Web site crashes under the weight of demand for the Missoni for Target collection. A month later, Jason Wu signs on as Target's next Go International designer, with a launch slated for February. (I am SUPER excited for this one).
September 23: Dolce & Gabbana pull the plug on the D&G line, folding it into the main collection.
October
Trish Summerville's "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" collection for H&M
October 12: Following the McQueen blockbuster, the Costume Institute announces "Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada: On Fashion" as the theme for its next exhibit.
October 13: Liz Claiborne Inc. agrees to sell its namesake brand to J.C. Penney.
October 26: H&M teams up with costume designer Trish Summerville to create a capsule collection loosely inspired by Lisbeth Salander of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo."
October 28: Tory Burch inks a fragrance deal with the Estee Lauder Cos. Inc.
November
Coco Rocha for Senhoa
November 1: Macy's says it will renovate its Herald Square flagship to the tune of $400 million over four years.
November 2: Model Coco Rocha teams up with Senhoa to develop a jewelry line with proceeds to aid Cambodian victims of human trafficking.
November 17: Portions of Marc Jacobs' Spring 2012 sample collection are stolen on London's Mount Street. Thieves take ready-to-wear and accessories from both the designer's main line and Marc by Marc Jacobs.
November 23: McQ, the younger, more contemporary line of Alexander McQueen, plans to show during London Fashion Week.
November 28: Black Friday shopping exceeds most retailers' expectations with a record 226 million shoppers visiting stores and Web sites over the long weekend. And early Cyber Monday projections suggest another record, with sales surpassing $1 billion.
November 29: Sarah Burton, creative director at Alexander McQueen, snags the Designer of the Year title at the 2011 British Fashion Awards.
December
Brad Goreski and Deborah Lloyd, Kate Spade's creative director
December 9: Stella McCartney reveals she'll launch a major fragrance, dubbed L.I.L.Y. - for her father's pet name for her mother, "Linda, I Love You," in January.
December 13 - 16: Some of the late Elizabeth Taylor's historic haute couture pieces are auctioned off at Christie's New York, raising nearly $116 million. A portion of the proceeds went to the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. (I added this one).
December 29: Brad Goreski is named Kate Spade New York's exclusive brand stylist. (Okay, I added this one too, but I thought it was newsworthy, for sure).
