A dark cloud looms over the opening of London Fashion Week today since the shocking death of fashion designer Alexander McQueen. London Fashion Week will celebrate his life and designs this week in a number of ways.

This morning, Sarah Brown, wife of the British Prime Minister, opened London Fashion Week with a tribute to the late designer. ABC News reports that Brown called the event a “reflective time with sadness at the passing.”

The British Fashion Council created a tribute wall in the main tent at Somerset House dedicated to the fashion designer. Visitors will be able to write notes of condolence to McQueen and his family. At the end of London Fashion Week the notes will be put into a book for the McQueen family, according to WWD.

In another tribute, images of McQueen’s designs will be displayed during London Fashion Week on a wall of iPods. Two thousand pictures of his designs will be displayed. Metro UK says organizers hope visitors will reflect on his contribution to the fashion world.

Despite his death, the Alexander McQueen line will carry on. Robert Polet, the president and chief executive of Gucci Group, announced that Alexander McQueen’s last collection will be shown during Paris Fashion Week on March 9th and 10th. It will be a presentation, not a tradition runway show, according to Marie Claire. Plans for the future of the fashion line have not yet been revealed.

Fashion designer Alexander McQueen died of asphyxiation and hanging, according to post-mortem information released at an inquest into his death.

This morning’s inquest at Westminster Coroner’s Court revealed that Alexander McQueen was found dead in a wardrobe at his London home on Thursday. The designer did leave a suicide note according to AFP News.  BCC reports that his sister, Janet McQueen, found the body of the 40-year-old designer.

Lynda Martindill, a coroner’s officer, said: At about 10.30am last Thursday … a man was found hanging in his wardrobe at Flat 1, Green Street, London, W1… On Monday February 15, he was identified as Lee Alexander McQueen, aged 40, born 17/3/69 in Lewisham, south east London. He was a single man, a fashion designer. He resided at Flat 1, 7 Green Street W1K.

Alexander McQueen’s death has cast a dark shadow over the fashion and entertainment world. During her New York Fashion Week show, Betsy Johnson sent a model down the runway with a “Long Live McQueen” sign. Lady Gaga paid tribute to the designer at the Brit’s. She dedicated her performance of “Telephone” to him.

The impact of his death will continue to be felt. Alexander McQueen was scheduled to show collections during the upcoming London and Paris Fashion Weeks.

A public memorial has been opened here for fans of the designer to share their condolences.

Fashion designer Alexander McQueen has been found dead in his home in what is being speculated as a suicide.

The Daily Mail broke the news that designer Alexander McQueen, whose real name was Lee Alexander McQueen, committed suicide yesterday at 40-years-old. An ambulance was called to his London home last night at 10:20. No official details have been given, but speculation is Alexander McQueen hanged himself.

Alexander McQueen’s mother Joyce died only days ago. The Mail reports that he has been publicly sharing his trouble over dealing with her death on Twitter. His Twitter account has since been deleted.

McQueen’s company said in a statement: On behalf of Lee McQueen’s family, Alexander McQueen today announces the tragic news that Lee McQueen, the founder and designer of the Alexander McQueen brand, has been found dead at his home. At this stage it is inappropriate to comment on this tragic news beyond saying that we are devastated and are sharing a sense of shock and grief with Lee’s family. Lee’s family has asked for privacy in order to come to terms with this terrible news and we hope the media will respect this.

His Fall 2010 show at New York Fashion Week was scheduled for today. The Huffington Post reports the show has been canceled. McQueen was also set to show at London and Paris Fashion Week within the next month.

Alexander McQueen made a big impact on the fashion industry. He was named British Designer of the Year four times. He took over as head designer for Givenchy in 1996 and joined Gucci, who bought part of his fashion line in 2000.

He will be greatly missed in the fashion world.

New York Fashion Week kicks off today. American fashion designers Marc Jacobs, Diane Von Furstenberg, Michael Kors, Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein and many more will be showing over the next seven days.

This year many designers will be streaming the show for their Fall/Winter 2010 collections live online. Grazia reports that Marc Jacobs, Alexander Wang, Rodarte and Calvin Klein have all announced that they will be streaming their shows online. Here is a list of the designers that have announced that they are streaming live so far:

- Ports 1961: 3 p.m. on Thursday, February 11, at Vogue.com.
- Lacoste: 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, February 13, at the Lacoste Facebook page.
- Alexander Wang: 5 p.m. on Saturday, February 13, at ShowStudio.com.
- Marc Bouwer: 9 a.m. on Sunday, February 14, at MarcBouwer.com.
- Calvin Klein Men’s: 2 p.m. on Sunday, February 14, at CalvinKleinInc.com or the Calvin Klein Facebook page.
- Marc Jacobs: 8 p.m. on Monday, February 15, at MarcJacobs.com.
- Rodarte: 12 p.m. on Tuesday, February 16, at ShowStudio.com.
- G-Star Raw: 7 p.m. on Tuesday, February 16, at G-star.com.
- Calvin Klein Women’s: 3 p.m. on Thursday, February 18, at CalvinKleinInc.com or the Calvin Klein Facebook page.

Here are the designers showing today: Mackage, BCBGMaxAzria, Heidi Klum for A Pea In The Pod/Destination Maternity, L.A.M.B., Ports 1961 and McQ Alexander McQueen. The Heart’s Truth Red Dress Collection fashion show is also tomorrow featuring 20 celebrities walking in red dresses to raise awareness of women’s heart disease.

Stay tuned on Real Style Network for coverage of the hottest New York Fashion Week shows.

[Mackage photo via Mackage]

As a follow up to the news that London Fashion Week will be going digital and streaming all of the shows live online, Real Style is looking at another designer who has recently started embracing the Internet. Marc Jacobs has announced that they will be streaming their Fall/Winter 2010 fashion show at New York Fashion Week live on their website on February 18th at approximately 8 p.m.

Marc Jacobs is just the most recent in a growing list of designers, including Louis Vuitton and Alexander McQueen, who have made the move to live streaming of their fashion shows.

Marc Jacobs has also embraced other social networking sites to get more in touch with their fans. The president of Marc Jacobs, Robert Duffy, started tweeting this month. Duffy has been posting pictures of Marc Jacobs and the staff working hard on the new collection on Twitter. Their website says he will be tweeting the day before the show to update followers on their progress.

The fashion line will also be selling their collection online starting this summer. WWD reports that Marc Jacobs will be opening an e-commerce store this August.

[photo via Robert Duffy]

London Fashion Week is about to set the trend for all the other Fashion Weeks to follow.

The entire week of shows will be streamed digitally. London Fashion Week has launched a new website here to stream all shows from the Somerset House venue and any other shows if the designer is interested. All designers will be offered the chance to stream live, but it’s not yet known who will take part. London Fashion Week is also working to get experts to do live commentaries on the shows while they are streaming.

Many designers such as Alexander McQueen and Burberry have embraced streaming and social networking as a way to get their names out. Just this week, Marc Jacobs announced that he will be streaming his New York Fashion Week show live online and took suggestions for what he should do during the show on Twitter.

London Fashion Week will be held from February 19th to 24th. Over 100,000 are expected to visit the website from around the world. This could open up these designers to a whole new audience.

[Mark Fast London Fashion Week Photo via Mark Fast]

Fashion designers Marc Jacobs and Natalie Rykiel, the president and creative director of the Sonia Rykiel line, are to be honoured today by the French Cultural Minister in Paris.

They are being decorated with Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres (meaning Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters). Grazia tells us that it is the equivalent to being knighted. Elle UK reports that it is being given to the fashion designers for their service to the fashion industry. The honours will be presented in Paris today by Culture Minister Frédéric Mitterrand.

They aren’t the first fashion designers to be honoured by royalty. Christoper Bailey of Burberry and Alexander McQueen have both been knighted in the UK, making them officially Sir’s to us.

This comes at a busy time for both designers. Marc Jacobs is busy in Milan with fashion week there and the second Sonia Rykiel line for H&M is about to hit stores. The first Sonia Rykiel Pour H&M line was a hit with it’s cute lingerie. This time the fashion line is focusing on knitwear, which they are known for. Early images of the line show knits, dresses, pants and shorts in black and bright pinks and yellows. See more photos of the line here.

Another fashionable night on the red carpet has passed by giving the critics new gowns to ooh and aah over. We have tallied the fashion blogs for the top picks for Best Dressed on the Golden Globes wet Red carpet.

It seems bloggers and fashion critics were torn. There is only one dress that everyone agreed upon. The style winner of the Golden Globes is Marion Cotillard. Everyone loved her green satin Dior gown with the little peak of lace lingerie. Paired with the Jimmy Choo sandals, Marion Cotillard couldn’t get any better.

The rest of the best of lists were split in their decision.

Many, including Elle Magazine and Vogue loved Maggie Gyllenhaal’s peach RM by Roland Mouret. Also,many  liked Drew Barrymore’s daring dress choice. Her nude Atelier Versace dress with beaded embellishments at the hip and shoulder could have been a fashion mishap, but she seemed to have pulled it off. Flare editor Lisa Tant described it best on Twitter saying that it matched her personality.

Kate Hudson in her white Marchesa dress really wowed on the red carpet and seemed to be a shoo in for every best dressed list. Some, like Eonline, felt the dress wore her instead of the other way around.

Diane Kruger brought some serious colour to many best dressed lists. Her pink tulle Christian Lacroix Haute Couture was a hit. Lacroix also scored a hit with a dress on Ginnifer Goodwin at the People’s Choice Awards, so we should look out for his dresses at the Oscars.

The most hated outfits?

Mariah Carey in a low plunging Herve Leger, Chloe Sevigny’s ruffled nude colored Valentino mess ( and it got ripped to boot), Christina Hendricks in a ruffled  satin peach concoction and Tina Fey’s Zac Posen’s black and white puddle skirted  outfit was also one of the most disliked gowns.

As per our earlier post about the Red Carpet, Real Style Network’s editors loved Marion, LOVED Kate Hudson,thought Sophia Loren was gorgeous and elegant and liked January Jones’ Lanvin gown!

Look here for pictures of all of the fabulous dresses.

[photos via Celeb Fans Page and Style Writer NYC]

With high-end fashion lines feeling the crunch of the economy, we can expect even more accessibly priced lines from top designers in 2010.

We already explained to you how some of the more affordable lines of top designers like Donna Karan, Calvin Klein and Michael Kors break down. These wise designers who have targeted a wider audience with their lower priced lines will be getting some competition in 2010.

Here is an update on more of the affordable designer lines:

Zac Posen’s lower priced Z Spoke line will be in Sak’s this spring with prices ranging from $78 to $675.

John Galliano’s menswear line is being prepared and will launch on January 18th with a contemporary price point.

Collaborations with Target and H&M are expanding daily to allow everyone to own something by their favourite designers. Most recently the Rodarte for Target line launched with huge praise. Zac Posen and Jean Paul Gaultier are next in the line of designers tapped for Target, which has already included Anna Sui and Alexander McQueen.

Jimmy Choo at H&M caused near chaos at some stores. H&M’s current collaboration with Sonia Rykiel features retro style lingerie and will expand to include knitwear and accessories next month.

Canadian knitwear designer Mark Fast is joining in the lower priced lines. His new line Faster will be available this Spring. According to New York Magazine, Mark Fast wants to tap into a new range of women. Prices will range from $25 to $400 for the new Faster line and items will be made in an Italian factory as opposed to being handmade. Mary Fast made bigger headlines this week when news broke that the budding designer turned down a request for clothes from Lady Gaga.

It seems that every day there is another design house aiming to get the attention and into the wallets of middle class America. This gives everyone the chance to own something with a designer tag but does this also mean the end of high end fashion as we know it? Or does the division of the low priced designer lines for the ‘masses’ and the super high priced fashion lines for the ‘few’, just maintain the status quo?

Will be interesting to see in a few years whether this new marketing direction for the fashion brands, devaluates the brand or expands it.

[Zac Posen photo courtesy of PR Photos]

Thanks to Tim Burton’s new movie, Alice In Wonderland will be everywhere this year, including your make up bag and closet. The LA Times named the classic character a trend to watch in 2010 fashion.

Florals, ruffles, pastels and kitten heels have already shown up on the runways of many top designers lending themselves perfectly to the trend.

Disney themselves are teaming up with designers on jewelry and clothing. Swarovski and Stella McCartney are rumoured to be working with Disney on some Alice In Wonderland inspired clothing. The high end Tom Binns Alice In Wonderland Jewelry will sell in luxury retailers and boutiques for $1,000.00 to $2,000.00. The Swarovski line will range from $100 to $500, according to The Disney Blog. Both jewelry lines will be available this Spring.

We previously told you about the window display in Paris featuring top designers like Alexander McQueen creating Alice themed dresses. The little girl who fell down the rabbit hole has apparently inspired Versace and Jason Wu this year. Zac Posen has announced an Alice In Wonderland themed jewelry line and pre-fall collection.

This isn’t the first time Alice In Wonderland has inspired the fashionable and fabulous. In 2003, photographer Annie Leibovitz did an Alice In Wonderland inspired shoot for Vogue featuring model Natalia Vodianova and top designers like Tom Ford, Karl Lagerfeld, Jean Paul Gauliter, and Donatella Versace just to name a few.

We are expected to see lots of blues and plaid coming our way if Alice In Wonderland truly takes hold of the fashion world.