FASHION Magazine

Happy Birthday Lizzie! (We can call you that, right?) For 85 years today, the Queen Mum has been a reigning style icon. So what are Her Majesty’s style staples?

Suits in every shade possible⎯and we do mean every shade. Think aqua, bright green, royal blue, purple, bright yellow, camel, magenta, burgundy, and every shade and variant of the rainbow.

Who doesn’t love playing dress-up? With the royal wedding being the ultimate fantasy occasion, we decided to let our imaginations run wild and pick out some ensembles for if we were rich, famous and… invited.

Alexis Roche, Galliano‘s partner of many years, has reportedly not been seen in the Dior offices for nearly two weeks — around the same time that Galliano was initially suspended from his post.

Check out our Paris fall 2011 fashion week photo gallery »

As is the case with virtually any news story these days, the developments in the John Galliano story⎯the designer being accused of hurling anti-Semitic insults at an (incidentally non-Jewish) couple while drinking at the Paris café, Le Perle⎯can be measured in tweets, quotes and snippets. Given the proliferated speed at which these bits are published and publicized, it’s amazing to witness how quickly the industry’s reaction has gone from appalled to forgiving to looking forward to the designer’s imminent replacement at Dior. Given the industry’s propensity for forgetfulness⎯history has made fools of those who once condemned Coco Chanel for her involvement with the Nazis or Kate Moss for being caught with cocaine⎯we have no doubt that Galliano will be back at the top in no time. All references to the frankly horrifying severity of his remarks will vanish and whereas Chanel’s and Moss’s actions took years to do the same, Galliano’s have almost done so in a matter of 14 days. Meanwhile, as rumours swirl for a possible replacement by Riccardo Tisci, Alber Elbaz and Marc Jacobs, we take a look back at the quickest judgment turnarounds in fashion history.

Sometimes you look and something coming down the runway and just think, “Huh?”

That happened last night at Lanvin when a black and white floral pouf dress appeared at Alber Elbaz’s fall 2011 show. As I watched the booted mini pass by, my next thought was “‘80s Wayne Clark”. Then, I noticed that the outfit was on Freja Beha Erichsen, and since designers tend to put their most important outfits on the better-known models, I wondered: should we to take this look as directional? Will we be seeing more poufy, oversized florals on the spring 2012 runway? Hmmm….

Talk about hitting the ground running. I’ve been in Milan for only a few hours and have already made une petite purchase at Lanvin (the store opened today just in time for my arrival!) perused Prada, Miu Miu and Marni (my holy trinity) and am now surreal-y sipping champers waiting for Gucci to start! Tough job but someone’s gotta do it. I’m in hyper mode and beyond thankful that the airplane gods granted me 3 seats across and I actually for the very-first-time ever slept on the flight over. The usual suspects are here, the sun is shining brilliantly (an anomaly for this time of year in Milan) so… let the games begin!

Julianne Moore wore a black Lanvin sheath dress with an elaborate feathered neckline to a Bulgari 125th anniversary event. What do you think of her avian-inspired look? Vote after the jump.

Mad Men star January Jones has been chosen as the face of Versace‘s spring campaign. [Elle]

The Lanvin x H&M madness continues. The fast-fashion retailer is auctioning off original signed sketches by Alber Elbaz, with proceeds going to the H&M UNICEF All For Children Project. [Lanvin for H&M]

Also, Alber Elbaz surprised fans by showing up to the Rockfeller Center’s H&M for the launch of the Lanvin X H&M collection on Saturday. [Fashionista]

Emma Roberts attended the Lanvin x H&M “haute couture” spectacle last night [See a gallery of the show] in her own version of high/low. The actress wore a grey bandeau dress from Topshop, which she she cinched with a navy blue Hermès belt. What do you think of this slate grey look? Vote after the jump.

Alber Elbaz has said, regarding Lanvin’s collaboration with H&M, that he wasn’t looking to make Lanvin cheaper, but to make H&M more haute. In an interesting twist on the cheap-chic concept, H&M staged an “haute couture” runway show in New York last night, which featured customized, high-end versions of Elbaz’s and Lanvin menswear designer Lucas Ossendrijver’s creations for the Swedish fast-fashion house. [View the full gallery] In tradition of a couture show, there was even a bridal look–a winking face tee paired with a short off-white ruffled skirt and a puffy headpiece with a long veil. The show was full of the fun that Elbaz is clearly going for with this collection–Anna Dello Russo sashayed out in a hot pink dress accompanied by an equally poufy poodle, and the closing look was the Lanvin x H&M garment bag, which looks quite cute when belted.

Emma Watson was the first person to receive a custom Burberry trench. Christopher Bailey gave Watson a coat from the company’s new bespoke collection for the premiere of her latest film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. [Vogue UK]

Alabama-based designer menswear designer Billy Reid is the winner of the US$300,000 2010 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund award. Prabal Gurung and Eddie Borgo were runners up. [Vogue]