2010's fashion villains and heroes

Just like in any industry, fashion has its heroes and villains. 2010 was a particularly turbulent year for the industry, as the lines between who is stylish, and who's a celebrity blurred beyond recognition, one of our greatest talents was lost, and sexual envelope pushing became the fad of the year. So who came out of 2010 smelling like roses, and who was left in the... well. You get the idea.

Kat George
Hero: Anna Dello Russo. Because she's not cool, she's fashion, baby. There's an infectiousness in Anna Dello Russo's commitment to fashion and her absolute exuberance that is just so joyful to watch. That, and the fact that she's saving all the hats from dying in a crusade that includes being constantly and lavishly hatted. 

Villain: Leighton Meester. On one hand, we have Blair Waldorf, unnervingly stylish, inspiring some of the cutest, sassiest fashions of the past year. On the other hand, we have Leighton Meester, an offensive mish-mash of colour and trends that, eclipse-like, should not be looked at directly. It's villainy at its very worst: Blair's super babe style status has lulled the masses into falsely regarding Leighton Meester as stylish too. Note to the masses: TV is not real; ex oh, ex oh.


Lauren Burville 
Hero: Sarah Burton. The fashion world lost one of its greats this year - Alexander McQueen. His successor Sarah Burton managed to bright light back onto the McQueen catwalk and give us all hope that his vision would live on. 

Villain: Terry Richardson. His photography is tasteless, vulgar and becoming boring. He's a creep and the fashion world needs to stop giving him such high praise and highly paid jobs. And that's my two cents!


Anders Christian Madsen
Hero: Dame Elizabeth Taylor. Her Bruce Weber portrait in LOVE brought a speck of light back to fashion.

Villain: Hollywood. Nuff said.

Zac Bayly
Hero: Lady Gaga. It’s OK to relax your sartorial standards in certain situations. Heck, I’ve been known to un-zip my ankles under the desk for short periods of time when I’m really schvitzing. But have you ever seen Gaga out of costume? Have you ever seen the woman tie her hair up into a bun when it’s hot? or even sweat at all for that matter? No. You haven’t. What a trooper. This woman’s refusal to dress down reminds us of how easily we give up when it comes to staying dressed up. Kudos, Gaga.
 
Villain: Lady Gaga. Bitch makes us all look bad. A full-time team of stylists? Fuck you Gaga; fuck you. P.s. I love you.


Alyx Gorman
Hero: Cathy Horyn. In an industry that can all too easily get overly gushy, we have one woman reminding us that if everything's 'a-maze-iiiiing', then amazing is average, and everything is really just mediocre. She's one of the few voices in fashion who isn't afraid to call a spade a spade, an uninspired show insipid or Snookie a turnip. She keeps designers on their toes (or gets her own toes banned from shows), and reminds us that sometimes, it's worth being critical.

Villain: Mark McInnes, Dov Charney, Shawn Mount and all the other men who made fashion feel like sexually unsafe. Shawn Mount was accused of raping a model during London Fashion Week, Charney and McInnes between them have enough sexual harassment lawsuits to make Joe Francis seem restrained… In an industry where women are the major focus, surely you'd think by now there'd be a bit more respect for them.