In case you live under a rock are unfortunately uninformed, last night was the annual Met Gala.

Known as “New York‘s version of the Oscars,” this year’s event, which celebrated the launch of the Costume Institute’s “Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty” exhibit (which you don’t want to miss – click here for exhibit information) was a feast of glamor, celebrities and fashion (and that’s just from the red carpet!).

Honestly, it was difficult to pick favorites from last night’s red carpet celebration. Between the glittering gold gowns and the daring fashion choices, this event was definitely the best red carpet we’ve seen in a while.

Here are some of my red carpet top picks:

Gisele Bundchen in Alexander McQueen

Daphne Guinness in Alexander McQueen

Sarah Jessica Parker in Alexander McQueen

Blake Lively in Chanel Couture

Madonna in Stella McCartney

Ashley Greene in Donna Karan

… with honorable mentions going to Kristen Bell, Elizabeth Banks, Jessica Alba and Nicole Richie!

In the spirit of celebration and positivity, we’re not picking “worst dressed” this year.

Who wore your favorite look on the red carpet last night?

Just a quick update to share Rihanna’s April 2011 Vogue cover.

Flawless.

Exciting news from the popular make-up brand, Bare Escentuals!

Bare Escentuals is releasing a line of skincare called bareMinerals Skincare that will include moisturizers, cleansers and treatments. The products will be powered by the RareMinerals Active Soil Complex, which, from what we can tell, sounds like magic.

Learn more about the new products in this video:

Stay tuned for more updates on the bareMinerals Skincare line (we’ve got some exciting things coming your way). In the meantime, check out some of the Bare Escentuals favorites currently available (sorry guys, you’ll have to wait for the skincare):

bare escentuals

VMAN continues to tease us with photos from their upcoming “No Risk, No Reward” issue (issue #21) with photos of Chord Overstreet, aka “The Sexiest Thing That Has Ever Happened to Glee.”

Enjoy the photos of His Blondness below and don’t forget to grab your copy of VMAN tomorrow!

“Gleeful Creature”
Photography by Sebastian Faena
Text by Brian Moylan
Clothes by G-Star, John Galliano, Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs

TGIF!!!

• Fashion Fund Winner – “Christopher Kane has won the 2011 BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund.”

• Jewelry: Unzip the Bling – “For high jewelry, made almost entirely by hand, technology is still part of the process, as computers are used to develop images and calculate geometric patterns. But the themes tend to focus on nature, suggested in the voluptuous, rounded shapes of animals and flowers. “

• Kenneth Cole Tries to Plug His Spring Line by Making Light of the Crisis in Egypt – … oops.

• The Cat in the Hat Comes Back – Time to get a hat, boys.

In the upcoming issue of VMAN (issue #21), “The Thrill of the Game Issue,” photographer Terry Tsiolis depicts co-eds in “sporty spring looks” from fashion houses across the globe.

Game On

“It’s hard to image which came first: clothes or competition. But they’ve certainly evolved together. Each fashion house proudly has it’s own sporty styles and action looks. Here, we spotlight their celebrations of all things athletic.”

Photographer: Terry Tsiolis
Text: Jay Massacret

Body Scan

“We like to subscribe to the old-world mentality that one should always travel in proper dress, that our bags and the items within should be small portraits of identity. When you look this good, what’s there left to hide?”

Photographer: Daniel Lindh
Styling: Tom Van Dorpe

VMAN hits stores on February 11. All photos courtesy of VMAN.

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• Eminent Domain Name: What To Do When Your Brand Is Coveted – …awkward

• Asian shoppers thirst for luxury – “But if China’s emerging class of consumers put their mind to it – up to 800 million of them, compared with roughly 200 million in the USA – their buying power will shape the needs and demands of the rest of the world.” — woah

• And Now Couture – You must read Cathy Horyn’s reviews of the couture shows from Paris Fashion Week or you are dead to me. Also, she liked Armani Prive.

• Chanel swaps pearls and operatic grandeur for T-shirts and flats – “This is the way young women dress nowadays,” pronounced Karl Lagerfeld, explaining why his Chanel haute couture show in Paris today was built around T-shirts, slim trousers and flat shoes, with barely a cocktail frock to be seen and not a pearl in sight. “Couture is not for old ladies anymore.”

Happy Friday, fashionable folk! Enjoy the weekly recap of what happened in fashion this week.

• Macy’s Windows Currently Feature Mannequins Dressed in Paper Outfits – “Pratt students were assigned to make outfits out of intricately folded pieces of paper for a class on texture and form.” On display until Jan. 26.

• Behind the Tweets: Learning from the Best of the Fashion Twitterati – Great interviews with the ladies behind @DKNY, @Bergdorfs & @OscarPRgirl.

• Wealthy treated themselves during the holidays treated – “The rich treated themselves like royalty this holiday season. That spun the holidays into gold for Tiffany & Co. and other high-end retailers. Wealthier shoppers traded up to more expensive gold and diamond jewelry from silver charms. Designer clothing and purses were back.”

• Why Dressing Well Is Costing More – “The culprit is the rising price of fabric. Cotton prices climbed a record 91% in 2010, and the price of crossbred wool hit a 14-year high in October, up 50% over 15 months. Mr. Chu says the price of premium wool such as that made by Loro Piana rises by about 10% every six months.”

• Who’s Buying All That Luxury? Not the Rich – “Before the recession, the wealthiest 10% of luxury consumers accounted for 68% of luxury spending. The so-called “Aspirationals” — the non-wealthy who liked to trade up for the occasional hyper-priced hand-bag or watch — accounted for 70% of luxury consumers but only 12% of luxury sales.”

Photo credit: NY Mag

Have a great weekend, everyone! Really great posts coming next week!

• Emmanuelle Alt Named Editor of French Vogue – “Emmanuelle Alt has been named the successor to Carine Roitfeld, who announced her departure as editor-in-chief of French Vogue right before the holidays. Alt, the magazine’s fashion director, was the favored choice in the rumors leading up to the announcement and will be the second stylist in a row to helm the title.”
• Blogging From Manila to Milan – “Bryan Grey-Yambao, a 24-year-old Filipino based in Manila, began blogging from his parents’ home in Manila in 2004. Today, his website, bryanboy.com, is one of the most prominent blogs in the fashion world.”
• Is Men’s Wear Back? – “Yes — and you can credit the recession. Behavioral experts say shopping doesn’t come naturally to most men, yet men’s wear was among the star performers this past holiday and retailers are expecting (or at least hoping) the growth will continue in 2011.”
• Hermes Wins AMF Ruling on New Holding Company, Strengthening LVMH Defense – “Hermes International SCA’s founding family can pool their shares in a holding company without having to bid for the rest of the luxury-goods maker, France’s stock market regulator said, bolstering its defense against LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA. “

It’s the last weekly fashion news round-up of 2010! Happy new year to all of you amazing fashionistos and fashionistas!

• The New York Fashion Week Fall 2011 Calendar – An early copy of the NYFW FW11 schedule has been released! We’ll post a more finalized version in a few days!

• Karl Lagerfeld Would Like to Sell You Some Alloy Rims – The latest in Karl Lagerfeld’s empire

• Feds Seize $100K in Fakes in Pittsburgh – Don’t buy counterfeits.

• Storm’s Two-Day Toll Could Be $1B – Surprise: no one went shopping in Snowpocalypse 2010 (Part II).

• Cathy Horyn’s Key Fashion Moments of 2010 - #1? Tavi Gevinson at fashion shows.

• Geri Halliwell makes her design debut to launch – and model – her own swimwear range for the High Street – Ginger Spice debuted her new swimwear line (and it isn’t terrible!)