In addition to featuring a Who's Who — including The Who — of British music (Annie Lennox, Ray Davies, the Spice Girls, George Michael, Madness, Blur), the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games paid tribute to British fashion brands.

The models hitting the Union Jack-shaped stage: Kate Moss (above) and Naomi Campbell in Alexander McQueen, Lily Donaldson wearing Vivienne Westwood, Stella Tennant in Christopher Kane, model/singer Karen Elson in Burberry, Lily Cole sporting Erdem, Georgia May Jagger (the offspring of fashion/music royalty Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall) wearing Victoria Beckham (a double brandcameo for the Spice Girl turned designer), Jourdan Dunn (Jonathan Saunders with headwear by milliner Stephen Jones) and David Gandy wearing Paul Smith.

The soundtrack: David Bowie's Fashion, of course. Bowie couldn't be included in the musical portion from the ceremony as he hasn't performed live since 2006.Continue reading...

Now that New York Fashion Week is a wrap, the spotlight turns today to London, where British designers are showcasing at their Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. Up and comers including the designing duo behind Preen, above, whose spring 2012 collection features high-tech lace and pixelated pastels inspired by Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury set.

Burberry will once again live-stream its show (taking place Monday) at Burberry.com, where anyone can buy fashions directly from the runway. Not hitting the runway, however: Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen, along with some models who feel LFW doesn't pay well enough to merit their time. (Click here for the full LFW schedule.)

There's hope that McQueen and McCartney will return to London Fashion Week in the spring, ahead of the London 2012 pre-Olympics buzz. The British Fashion Council, meanwhile, this week announced that Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen will participate in an arts-based collaboration, Britain Creates, part of the London 2012 cultural program.Continue reading...