Fashion Stories That Changed 2012

Related: Balenciaga, Alexander Wang, Tory Burch

2012 was a big year in the fashion industry. There has been designer musical chairs and lawsuits gallore. Before the ball drops at midnight and we ring in 2013, let's take a look back at the biggest moments and how they've changed the fashion landscape.

Raf Simons Leaves Jil Sander
Back in February, Jil Sander set the tone for what would be a year of designer shift at major fashion houses, when they announced that Raf Simons was leaving the label and would be replaced by founding designer Jil Sander. The announcement was made just days before Simons showed his standout fall 2012 collection at Jil Sander and there are still no answers as to why the switch was made.

Stefano Pilati Leaves YSL
Just five days after the Raf Simons/Jil Sander bombshell was dropped, news of another major designer ousting surfaced. YSL confirmed the rumors that Stefano Pilati was exiting the company.

Hearst Gets Sued by Former Intern
Former Harper's Bazaar intern filed suit against Hearst, accusing them of violating state and federal wage and hour laws by not paying her when she was doing the work of a paid employee. Since then the suit has turned into a class action one, involving over 3,000 Hearst employees. The suit is still ongoing and has had greater ramifications for the publishing industry. Conde Nast has taken action and announced they would be enforcing stricter regulations for their internship program and mandatory mentorships.

Model Issues Rise to the Forefront
In February of this year, the The Model Alliance, a non-profit organization founded by Sara Ziff, officially launched with the goal of "helping models in the American fashion industry organize for safe, fair, and healthy standards in their workplace." Soon after, the CFDA released new guidelines which stipulated that, among other things, models would have to be ID'd, and those under the age of 16 should not walk the runway. While some major designers and agencies violated these guidelines, the modeling industry found a powerful ally in Vogue: In May, the 19 international editors of the magazine signed an agreement to never feature models that looked unhealthy or were under the age of 16.

Hedi Slimane Goes to YSL
Though Hedi Slimane was rumored to be taking the reigns at YSL even before Stefano Pilati officially left the company, it wasn't officially confirmed until a few weeks after Pilati left. At the time, PPR Chairman and Chief Executive Officer François-Henri Pinault said, "As one of the most important French fashion houses, Yves Saint Laurent today possesses formidable potential, which I am confident will be successfully harnessed and revealed through the vision of Hedi Slimane."

Page 2 >>