Getty Images 'Year in Focus 2011' - Most Iconic Images
Wall Street Journal
Getty photographers covered more than 51,000 entertainment events this year—moments like Pippa Middleton stealing the spotlight at the royal wedding with her Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen bridesmaid dress and toned rear-end, Beyoncé showing off her baby bump in an orange Lanvin gown at the MTV Video Music Awards, and 17-year-old model Lindsey Wixson’s stumbles at Naomi Campbell’s Fashion for Relief runway show.
Getty Images’ annual “Year in Focus,” available online for a second year, has compiled some of these notable photographs and video footage. Here is a sampling, with thoughts provided to Heard on the Runway by Roxanne Motamedi, vice president of entertainment in North America at Getty Images.
Kevin Mazur, Contributor, 113548493
Madonna attended the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute Gala two days before the opening of the museum’s ‘Savage Beauty’ exhibit, a retrospective of the late British designer Alexander McQueen, who took his life in Februry 2010. It was one of the 10 most visited shows in the museum’s history.
Roxanne Motamedi: “The Alexander McQueen Savage Beauty Costume Institute Gala at the Met this year was unforgettable. Stars and icons flocked to pay tribute to this unparalleled designer we lost too soon in an outpouring of admiration, affection, love, and of course, fashion.
Madonna’s Stella McCartney dress was elegant and beautiful—
an absolute vision—as she ascended the stairs for this style-fueled gala.”
Nicki Minaj had many unusual fashion moments in 2011, including sitting front row at the Oscar de la Renta Spring 2012 show in New York wearing a leopard bodice and stuffed animal for a hat, flanked by Anna Wintour and Justin Timberlake. For the American Music Awards, Ms. Minaj wore an Oscar de la Renta gown from the show, making for a more tame, high fashion moment.
RM: “At the 2011 American Music Awards in Los Angeles,
Nicki Minaj shows her distinct style—
both chic and coquettish—and as original as her sound. Minaj was caught at the perfect moment, a pose that captures her bold and inspired look and, of course, her playful energy that makes her so captivating.”
This year, the always avant-garde
Lady Gaga emerged from an egg at the Grammys and wore a sheer body suit leaving little to the imagination at the Council of Fashion Designers of America Awards after-party. She also made several statements at the MTV Europe Music Awards in November, where she wore spring 2012 Paco Rabanne (this futuristic look is made entirely of paper).
RM: “
Lady Gaga has a fashion sense that is truly all her own. Her designs inspire
an incomparable style and original creativity that penetrates both her music and performance. She is truly larger than life, as are the costumes that encompass her character convey that absolutely.”
Frank Worth, Courtesy of Emage International, Getty Images 109558844
Bombshell and style icon Elizabeth Taylor, never afraid of plunging necklines, posed on the set of the movie ‘Giant,’ which she co-starred in with Rock Hudson and James Dean.
RM: “Liz was just one of many Hollywood superstars we lost this year, and
her exquisite beauty and unrivaled passion secured her roles ranging from Cleopatra to Gloria Wandrous. In this image, Elizabeth flashes her violet eyes, a characteristic as desirously bold as her performance, ensuring her standing among the greatest of Hollywood royalty.”
Gareth Cattermole, Getty Images for IMG
An example of Dutch designer Iris van Herpen’s futuristic and structured looks presented at the Spring/Summer 2012 show at Fashion Week in Berlin. Her work attracts celebrity fans with distinctive tastes like Björk and Lady Gaga.
RM: “Iris van Herpen created quite a stir this year with her flair for marrying technology and traditional sewing to create futuristic fashions, with many likening her imaginative designs to those of Alexander McQueen.”
http://blogs.wsj.com/runway/2011/12/...year-in-focus/ 
