1/54The Chinese Century
"Liu Wen and her counterparts Fei Fei Sun and Sui He are some of the most in-demand models of the moment, but 2012 saw a huge new crop of girls from China. Tian Yi, Lina Zhang, Xiao Wen, and Wang Xiao are just a few of the names now booking major shows. It's definitely a sign that the modeling world is waking up to a market that's growing day by day."
Xiao Wen Ju, above
Photographed by Tommy Ton2/54Liu Wen
3/54Tian Yi and Lina Zhang
4/54Fei Fei Sun
5/54Sui He
6/54Wang Xiao
7/54Egypto-What?
"Balenciaga fanatics around the world fought to get their hands on the Egyptofunk sweatshirts from Nicolas Ghesquière's Fall collectsion. By the start of the shows in September, they were completely sold out and being worn by every major editor, buyer, and stylist. A true testament to how influential Nicolas is."
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10/54Bubbling Under
"Every year I make the trek to Sydney for its fashion week in hopes of spotting new talents and fresh faces. This past May surpassed my expectations. There's an energy there, and it's evident in the way the locals dress. Maybe it's the beach-y lifestyle, but from bloggers to models, the girls have an ease and effortlessness about them. Cool with a capital C."
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16/54Breakout Stars
"Designers Susanne Ostwald and Ingvar Helgason of Ostwald Helgason went from relative unknowns to overnight favorites of the street-style set. And after their boldly colored, playful designs were seen on the likes of Miroslava Duma and Anya Ziourova, their clothes were immediately snapped up by international retailers."
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21/54Cara Cara Cara
"You couldn't open a magazine (Style.com/Print included) or browse a Tumblr site this year without seeing Cara Delevingne. Her tomboy style charmed the fashion world, and the street-style mafia is smitten with that adorable face of a million expressions, but her unexpected rise can be explained by just one thing: her personality."
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26/54Abs Fab
"Rick Owens once said, 'Working out is modern couture. No outfit is going to make you look or feel as good as having a fit body.' This year, the midriff emerged as the new erogenous zone. With its architectural crop-tops, Nicolas Ghesquière's final collectsion for Balenciaga practically mandates a flat tummy. Time to hit the gym, ladies."
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30/54Cerf's Up
"Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele wore her newly acquired collectsion of Comme des Garçons coats at the Paris shows, and easily outshined all the young girls clamoring to have their photos taken. 'Life is about being divine in the street,' she said. J'adore you, Carlyne."
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33/54Putting the Street in Street Style
"Street wear and sports gear emerged as the most influential trends of 2012. Supreme caps, varsity jackets, sports jerseys, and even track pants and hoodies are just about everywhere. If we have anyone to thank, it's Givenchy and Kenzo, high-fashion French labels that turned printed tees and logo-emblazoned sweatshirts into collectsors' items."
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39/54The Young Ones
"Watch your back Hanne Gaby! Nadja Bender, Tilda Lindstam, Marte Mei van Haaster, Manon Leloup, and Ruby Jean Wilson were all over the street-style blogs this year. What made them hard to resist for me was the slight nostalgic nod to the grunge era in their getups, despite the fact that none of them are really old enough to have experienced the nineties themselves."
Nadja Bender, above
40/54Marte Mei van Haaster
41/54Ruby Jean Wilson
42/54Tilda Lindstam
43/54Manon Leloup
44/54Going to Extremes
"Rei Kawakubo's two-dimensional tour de force was probably the show of the year. Seeing the unconventional, exaggerated silhouettes of her coats and dresses on everyone from Taylor Tomasi Hill to Anna Dello Russo was invigorating. It definitely brought a smile to my face."
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47/54Tattoo You
"A group of tattooed models stole the spotlight at London's first-ever men's fashion week in June. Miles Langford, James Quaintance, Lawson Rhys Taylor, and Daniel Bamdad have been in heavy editorial rotation since. I hope we'll see more of them in the year to come."
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50/54The Tommy Ton Five
"These women can wear anything and look awe-inspiring, but if I had to name my favorite outfits of theirs, these would be it.
"Caroline de Maigret's effortless Parisian cool and rock-star aura make us all secretly want to be her."
51/54"Hanne Gaby Odiele is a girl from another fashion planet. It's her boldness and spirit that makes her such a star."
52/54"Layered to perfection in the chicest high-low ensemble of the year, Jenna Lyons proved it's not what you wear that matters but how you wear it."
53/54"Shala Monroque could have walked off the pages of a Richard Avedon photograph in her Alaïa coat and crystal-strewn plastic Prada bucket hat."
54/54"In her Comme des Garçons and vintage Patricia Underwood felted bob cap, Michelle Elie looks like the Queen of Hearts. Definitely one to watch."
