The instant critical response to Kate Middleton's very restrained and elegant lace Alexander McQueen wedding dress ranges from positive to outright raving. Put Hilary Alexander at the Telegraph on the over-the-moon end of the spectrum: "Middleton stepped out of the vintage Rolls Royce Phantom VI and into the pages of…

Steven Meisel shot some of the Alexander McQueen pieces that feature in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's upcoming show. Designer Sarah Burton, who succeeded McQueen following his suicide, says of the lace dress above, "This dress was actually based on my wedding dress — I got married two years earlier. We had to…

According to the latest version of the Kate Middleton/Alexander McQueen wedding dress rumors, the princess-to-be consulted with British Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman before Saying Yes To A Dress. Shulman told her to pick McQueen. The Telegraph reports that "a Vogue spokesman refused to comment, but sources admitted…

Alexander McQueen is denying the reports that it has been approached to make Kate Middleton's wedding dress — but if McQueen were the chosen brand, it's unlikely the house would be permitted to confirm it to the press. The Daily Mail writes that Middleton "is thought to have picked the designer after being impressed…

A new documentary about Lee Alexander McQueen will screen tonight on British television. Here's McQueen's brother, on their mother's death and McQueen's suicide: "She wouldn't have been over the moon with my brother for what he did. I'm afraid no one was. It was very disappointing in that respect. He always thought…

• Supposedly, Kate Moss and Jamie Hince are engaged. According to tabloid reports, they were spotted leaving a jewelry store recently, so it must be true! Can't you see this is the body language of a newly engaged couple?

As you may have heard, Michelle Obama recently wore a red Alexander McQueen evening gown to a state dinner held in honor of the Chinese president, Hu Jintao. This apparently made a lot of people very unhappy.

• GQ promises its story will explain what the hell, exactly, Campbell was thinking on the stand at Charles Taylor's trial, but we're not expecting much given the mag didn't press Campbell on the subject during their last interview. [GQ UK]

• Dansk magazine's wanton disregard for Baptiste Giabiconi's hotness makes us want to say to the stylist, Hey, whazz wong witz you, man? Meanwhile, it seems Giabiconi occasionally doubts his place in the heart of his Grand Monsieur, Karl Lagerfeld...

• The cover of this magazine has been out for a while, but only the full spread reveals just how well Marc works a handbag. [Fashionologie]
• Trendy label Eleven Paris booked Zoe Kravitz and model Ash Stymest for its lookbook. [TLF]

• Khloe Kardashian, her late, lamented red hair, and a mask apparently made of plastic packing straps and a packet of studs from the nearest Michaels star on the cover of NY skate shop Yellow Rat Bastard's in-store mag, YRB. [Racked]

• Lady Gaga will serve as the "Music Director" for her pal and stylist Nicola Formichetti's first show helming the recently revived label Thierry Mugler. Rumor has it that Gaga will be unveiling songs from her forthcoming album. [WWD]

• Ann Taylor replaced Heidi Klum with Katie Holmes for the spring season. The brand says it sought Holmes, who's also modeled for J. Crew and been the face of Miu Miu, for "her intellect, kindness and enduring personal style." [WWD]

• Model Coco Rocha unearthed and published the Steven Meisel photograph that Anna Wintour famously killed from Grace Coddington's 1920s-themed spread in The September Issue — previously only glimpsed ever-so-fleetingly in the movie. So this is it. It's purty. [OhSoCoco]

• This new French L'Oréal ad is like celebrity spokesmodel whack-a-mole. We spy Beyoncé, Patrick Dempsey, Jessica Alba, Freida Pinto, Claudia Schiffer, Rachel Weisz, and Jane Fonda... It's funny to watch them all say, "Parce que vous le valez bien." [YouTube]

• Worst-selling, that is. Swift's April Elle issue sold the fewest copies of the year, and her covers of Glamour and Marie Claire were nearly as bad. Blake Lively bombed on Vogue and Esquire, but weirdly sold well for Allure. [WWD]

Fuck 2010. This year fucking sucked.

The fashion industry in 2010 was rocked by everything from untimely deaths to unlikely unionization efforts. Money, sexual harassment, suicide, and shocking resignations: here's what changed fashion this year. [NSFW]

• Joan Smalls — a model whose career we've been tracking for years — bagged an Estée Lauder contract. The Puerto Rican's ads will debut next spring. "We are rejoicing in the importance of global beauty," said Aerin Lauder. [WWD]

• Blake Lively is rumored to be the face of an upcoming Chanel handbag campaign. [E!]
• Having Linda Evangelista in its ads has apparently driven up Talbot's quarterly profits by 17%. [WWD]