10 fashion moments of the decade

1. Yves Saint Laurent retires

In 2002, the last YSL Haute Couture collection took place. During a very emotional fashion show, Monsieur Saint Laurent said goodbye and handed his brand over to Tom Ford. I won't discuss the circumstances of this change now or what I think about Ford's ways... But Saint Laurent's retirement meant the definitive end of french "couturiers" and fashion as it used to be understood in the XXth century.

2. Kate goes to Glastonbury

Yeah, Kate has been around for ages, but it's the 2000's that have definitely established her as the biggest fashion icon alive. When was it that we saw her first in Glasto, wearing clothes that we would see afterwards in every single city in the world? Anyway, her "muddy festival fashion statement" made a rock icon out of her, and brought rock & roll back into fashion. I think I can never thank Kate enough for that...

3. Hedi Slimane takes charge of Dior Homme

Talking about the relationship between rock & roll and fashion, how to forget Hedi Slimane? From 2000 to 2007 the genius designer was the creative head behind what was called before Dior Monsieur. He made the brand fresher, more androgynous and edgier, and he did more than bring rock back into fashion...He brought as well creativity in menswear back! (which was something unseen since...the XVIII century, right?). His main trademark though was slimness. Karl Lagerfeld lost about 100 kilograms just to fit in his Dior Homme jeans and suddenly boys started getting more and more cheekbones...Yay! So, again, merci Hedi.

4. Sofia Coppola becomes a film director

With her films, miss Coppola has expressed perfectly what we girls were all wanting: with her pastel colours, her delicate and intimate points of view and her indulging in girly things (macaroons, cakes, shoes, Marc Jacobs clothes), she has made the sweeter side of femininity acceptable (after several decades of bra-burning, power-dressing, shoulderpad-crazed "feminism"). But not only is she a great interpreter of the female mind, she is also a goddamn good director! (by the way I simply can't wait to see her newest film).

5. Gareth Pugh is the new "enfant terrible"

His first show took place in London in 2006, and ever since he's been the talk of the town. His take on fashion not only is innovative, but is also far away from the "let's sell every product we possibly can" concept that is the "creative" basis of many many brands. Gareth is currently becoming more and more influential in the industry, so we can (hopefully) expect a change of direction in things...

6. Agyness Deyn is the star of I-D

Two years ago, I-D magazine made a special issue in which Aggy appeared in every single page. Not that this is new in itself, every Vogue America features a top model in every single page of every single issue according to Anna Wintour's fancies (Natalia Vodianova, Sasha Pivovarova, Gemma Ward, Jessica Stam, Liya Kebede etc etc etc), but this meant that a truly edgy concept of beauty, fashion and aesthetics was taking over and going mainstream. I guess this has a good and a bad side to it (we have all seen far too many Aggy clones by now), but the (strange) phenomenon of people accepting diversity can only be good.

7. SHOWstudio turns the industry upside down

"Fashion Revolution" is almost an understatement. Nick Knight's baby means the end of the fashion system as we know it. His fashion films, political fashion projects, performances and interactive works mean a more critical, more participative and more arty interpretation of fashion. What more can I say, except "I LOVE SHOWstudio"?

8. High-end designers collaborate with mass-production brands

It started in 2005 with Karl Lagerfeld designing a limited edition collection for H&M. The whole venture went awry in the end, with the sizes of the garments being far too big for human beings to fit in them (size "34" was actually a size 40 and size "44" was like a size 70) and Karl dropping some of his infamous quotes ("I am not doing clothes for obese women!!!!!!" and the like). But we all know beginnings are never easy. Afterwards it was Stella McCartney, then Viktor & Rolf, then Rei Kawakubo and Kate Moss and right now there are far too many collaborations to keep a record of them. The latest and most exciting? Rodarte for Target without the shade of a doubt!

9. Alexander McQueen creates the Armadillo shoes

They are the "dernier cri" in matters of footwear, but I personally think the Armadillos are more than that: for a start, they are an argument against people who say everything is already invented in fashion. Not true. We are right now living an extremely prolific and innovative fashion moment; shapes, colours, materials and concepts are changing. What more could we ask for? I can't wait to see how it all evolves in the new decade...

10. Bloggers take over

Move over, Ms. Wintour, a 13 year-old is taking your place. The first decade of our century will be remembered as the one that saw fashion discovering the Internet (the Internet had been there for ages; but for some unusual reason, fashion got there reaaaaaaaally late). Finally, oh, finally, the web is being recognised as respectable and profitable. Brands are lately being promoted more by bloggers than by actual magazines (I mean, come on, free publicity, what more can you ask for?). And yes, miss Susie Bubble started the whole fashion bloggers phenomenon with her excellent articles on new designers and rising talents... Lots of other girls and boys (mainly girls, to tell the truth) have followed Susie's steps and created their own universes. This means a more democratic, authentic and individualistic view on fashion. So for that I have to say bravo to all of you bloggers out there! Keep up the great work.

So these are, in my opinion, the 10 biggest fashion moments of the now almost past decade. These things have transformed fashion, turned it into what it is nowadays and opened the doors for more change during the next decade. Of course, these are personal points of view and I'm probably forgetting many many fashion moments. So please tell me which ones are your biggest fashion moments of the decade!