A year in fashion: The big stories of 2014

Alexander Wang takes over H&M. [Photo provided to China Daily]

5 Alexander Wang took over H&M: Alexander Wang brought his sporty-chic cool to the masses with his H&M collaboration. Months of teasing from the Swedish retailer finally ended on November 6 when the collaboration went on sale. The biggest surprise? That footballer Andy Carroll was selected as one of the model faces of the range.

Kim and Kanye caused a kerfuffle with their Vogue cover (and koordinating kleavage): March saw the release of a very controversial cover, US Vogue starring Kanye West and then-bride-to-be Kim Kardashian. Some loved it, but most hated it－many even saying they would stop buying the mag in protest. Boo. The issue did fail to meet the expected sales targets, but Anna Wintour maintained that the reality star was a wise choice. "Kim, through her strength of character, has created a place for herself in the glare of the world's spotlight, and it takes real guts to do that," she reasoned. The couple continued a fashion-heavy year with a trip to October's Paris Fashion Week, where they sported some very impressive matching kleavage.

The Apple Watch got a very fashionable welcome: The Apple Watch was finally unveiled, with fashion editors－including our very own Lisa Armstrong－getting the first look as the tech company aimed to woo the style setters. Just a month after its much-hyped introduction, the accessory made it on to the cover of Vogue China, worn by model Liu Wen－despite the fact it won't actually be available for purchase until sometime next year.

Audrey Hepburn's granddaughter stepped out of the shadows: Emma Ferrer, Audrey Hepburn's only granddaughter, made her modelling debut on the pages of US Harper's Bazaar－and the world went crazy for her. The 20-year-old art student posed for Michael Avedon, the grandson of Richard Avedon, who famously photographed Hepburn throughout her career. Appearances on the front row at Paris Fashion Week followed, and then she was signed by Storm Models, the same agency behind Kate Moss, Cara Delevingne and Cindy Crawford, meaning we expect to see a lot more of her pretty face in 2015.

Rihanna's crystal-covered RiRi's won a CFDA Award: It was ironic really that Rihanna turned up the the CFDA Awards to collect the Fashion Icon Award wearing 216,000 Swarovski crystals and not a lot else. The popstar successfully stole the show in the custom-designed fishnet creation by Adam Selman, her longtime friend and personal costumier.

"Even as a child I remember thinking, 'She can beat me, but she cannot beat my outfit'," said the singer in her acceptance speech. "And to this day I mean, that is how I think about it. I can compensate for all my weaknesses with my fashion." And compensate she really, really did.

Anna Wintour became an actual Ice (bucket) Queen: It's not often you see Anna Wintour take a bucket of icy water over the head. In fact, we had never seen that until this year. It was all thanks to the Ice Bucket Challenge in aid of the Motor Neurone Disease Association and Macmillan Cancer Support, which meant a load of fashion's finest shed their sophisticated facades and looked like a bunch of freezing cold plonkers. Our fave? Donatella Versace.

Cate Blanchett looked a million dollars－literally: Scooping the Best Actress award at this year's Oscars for her role in Blue Jasmine, Cate Blanchett quite rightly dressed the part－to the tune of $18.1 million (approx ￡10.9 million). The lion's share of the huge sum was down to her accessories. Her nude, crystal-embellished couture Armani gown took up just $100,000 (approx￡60,000) of the eye-watering price tag. The other $18 million was afforded to her Chopard jewels: earrings of 62 opals with a combined 33 carats, a brown-diamond bracelet and pear-shaped diamond ring. Now that's what we call red-carpet dressing.

Jeremy Scott put the fun back into fashion at Moschino: Jeremy Scott made his debut as creative director of Moschino in February- and boy did he make a statement. The designer ushered in a new era for the Italian label with a MacDonald's and SpongeBob SquarePantsthemed collection. He followed it up in September with a Barbie-themed one. Some laughed, some scoffed－but it made us realise that fashion needed a little bit of fun.