The A to Z of 2019
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ARCHIE
Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, the first child of Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle, was born on 6th May 2019. Little Archie is seventh in line to the British throne, but on the decision of his royal parents won’t receive an official title or be referred to as ‘HRH’.
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BREXIT
Nearly three years on from the referendum, a general election in December gave the British public a final say on Brexit. With Boris Johnson now firmly in place at No. 10 with a comfortable Conservative majority, Britain looks set to leave the European Union next year.
CELINE DION
French-Canadian singer Celine Dion reinvented herself as a high-fashion couture star in 2019. Dion particularly impressed during Paris couture week in July where she was photographed wearing one-off creations from the likes of Chanel, Richard Quinn and Vetements.
DIOR AT THE V&A
Spanning 1947 to the present day, this record-breaking exhibition traced the history and impact of one of the 20th century's most influential couturiers, as well as Christian Dior's relationship with Britain. Surpassing the former record set by 2015’s Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty, the blockbuster show had nearly 600,000 visitors, 100,000 more than McQueen.
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EGG
Only four days into 2019, the Instagram account @world_record_egg posted the most-liked picture ever on the social media platform, beating the previous record of 18m set by Kylie Jenner. As it stands, the photo of a plain, boiled egg has more than 53m likes.
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FYRE FESTIVAL
By the end of January, there was only one documentary everyone was talking about. Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened gave viewers a 97-minute inside look at the most spectacular festival failure of all time, sparking widespread shock and a host of internet memes.
GAME OF THRONES
The fantasy-drama television series came to a close in 2019, with many fans criticising the way writers wrapped things up. Airing in May, 13.6m viewers tuned in to watch the final episode of the eighth series, which dealt with the aftermath of Daenerys Targaryen's (Emilia Clarke) devastation of King's Landing to reveal who would finally rule Westeros.
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HOT PRIEST
Fleabag was one of the biggest TV moments of the year, not least because of Andrew Scott’s remarkable turn as the Hot Priest – a character which charmed women up and down the country. His relationship with Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s unnamed character captured the nation’s hearts, leading up to an unforgettable final episode.
INSTAGRAM 'LIKES'
In July, the decision by one of the world’s largest social media platforms to hide its ‘like’ function in countries such as Australia and Japan to relieve feelings of pressure on its users marked a pivotal step in the digital revolution. Although users can still see the number of likes on their own posts, they won’t be able to see a running tracker on other people’s.
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JENNIFER ANISTON
The moment celebrity social media watchers had been waiting for arrived in October when Friends actress Jennifer Aniston finally joined Instagram. In true Rachel Green style, Aniston didn’t disappoint with her first post – a selfie of the Friends cast at a dinner in LA, 25 years after the first episode of iconic series aired. Oh, and she set a new world record for the fastest person to reach 1m followers.
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KARL LAGERFELD
The world of high fashion waved goodbye to a well-known face in February, after legendary Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld died. Lagerfeld had been at the helm of the French fashion house since the early 80s, which was on the brink of closure before he took over.
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LADY GAGA & BRADLEY COOPER
Even if you didn’t watch the Oscars, you won’t have missed the furore surrounding Lady Gaga and her A Star Is Born co-star Bradley Cooper. The two set tongues wagging following a series of gushing interviews on the publicity trail for their award-winning film. It seems the Oscar-night performance of the film’s hit song ‘Shallow’ was the final straw for Cooper’s then-girlfriend Irina Shayk, as the couple soon split up.
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MICRO BAGS
A trend started by French designer Jacquemus, the micro bag won both fans and critics in 2019. From Lizzo at the AMAs to Kourtney Kardashian on the beach in Positano, plenty of celebrities hopped aboard the tiny bag wagon in 2019. Still can’t get your head round it? Think less practical handbag, more high-concept accessory.
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NINETIES
A dominant trend in 2019, the 90s took over both fashion and beauty. From crop tops to Kate Moss-style slip dresses, dark brown lips to smokey eyeliner, the 90s look is set to stick around in 2020.
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OLIVIA COLMAN
Between her Best Actress win for The Favourite at this year’s Oscars to her highly anticipated turn as Queen Elizabeth II in the third series of The Crown, 2019 was all about Olivia Colman.
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PRINCE ANDREW
Prince Andrew’s ‘retirement’ from public life sealed a pretty uncomfortable year for the royals. After failing to apologise to the victims of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein – a man with whom he shared a questionable friendship – the Palace put a sudden end to the Duke of York’s list of royal duties in November.
QUEER EYE
The Fab Five added a further two seasons to their hugely popular Netflix series in 2019, alongside a special four-part trip to Japan. Mega fans will probably know that a fifth season has already been commissioned, with new episodes rumoured to drop in the spring.
RUGBY WORLD CUP
After England’s great run at the football World Cup in 2018, Eddie Jones’s men had a lot to live up to at this year’s rugby World Cup in Japan. In the end, they went one better than Gareth Southgate’s side by getting all the way to the final. Despite losing to champions South Africa, it’s fair to say the boys did us proud.
STORMZY
Stormzy's headline appearance on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury Festival was widely praised. With plenty of political punch, a guest appearance from Coldplay’s Chris Martin and a stab-vest costume designed by elusive British graffiti artist Banksy, it’s already gone down as one of the most provocative performances in the festival’s history.
TESTAMENTS
The long-awaited sequel to Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale managed to scoop one half of this year’s Booker Prize before it even hit bookshelves. Set 15 years after the events of the original, the new novel is narrated by Aunt Lydia – one of the key antagonists from the previous book.
UBER
We admit the SL office went into a bit of a panic on hearing the news that taxi service Uber was in danger of losing its London licence. The company has since appealed the decision by Transport for London in the hope that a judge will mirror a similar ruling made in 2017 to temporarily restore its operating licence.
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VERSACE
Versace’s September runway show in Milan became a viral hit following an unexpected cameo from singer Jennifer Lopez. A 50-year-old – yes, you heard us right – J-Lo sashayed down the catwalk in an updated version of her iconic 2000 Grammys dress, prompting audible cheers from the delighted audience.
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WAGATHA CHRISTIE
Top WAG Coleen Rooney turned super sleuth in October by revealing the identity of someone she suspected to be selling fake stories about her marriage to Wayne Rooney to the British tabloids. There’s no two ways about it: the words ‘It’s……… Rebekah Vardy’s account’ are going down in footballer’s wives folklore.
XR
This was the year of Greta Thunberg, climate change and Extinction Rebellion (XR) – the activist group on a mission to make people take the climate crisis seriously. From Emma Thompson to Benedict Cumberbatch, the movement won a legion of high-profile supporters, even if the disruption caused by October’s climate protests in London lost them a few fans.
YELLOW BANANA
Destructible art definitely became a ‘thing’ this year, with the most recent incident taking place at this month’s Art Basel in Miami. Performance artist David Datuna took a ripe banana – part of an $120,000 installation piece by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan – off the wall and ate it. Despite initial anger from gallery staff, the banana was swiftly replaced. Datuna won’t face further action for the stunt.
ZARA DRESS
If one piece of clothing went viral in 2019, it was that black and white polka dot dress from Zara. Midi length, affordable and universally flattering, it spawned its very own Instagram account, as well as thousands of ‘dress-spotters’ announcing daily sightings on their morning commute.
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