Gold, sneakers, models? Fashion's Olympic moment

The Associated Press, Monday, August 13, 2012, 8:23am (PDT)

Who were those gowned women?

Models had their moment at the closing ceremony of the London Olympics, with the likes of Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell bringing gold ballgowns, high heels and glamour on Sunday to the stadium that had been home to sneakers and sweat.

The unusual moment seemed to stump even the NBC announcers, who identified Campbell and Moss and otherwise stayed silent for much of the tribute set to David Bowie's "Fashion."

For the record, the other models were Georgia May Jagger (daughter of Mick) in a gold dress created by reunited Spice Girl Victoria Beckham; Karen Elson, in a gold floral lace bustier dress by Burberry; Lily Donaldson, in a gown covered with hammered sequins and metallic thread by Vivienne Westwood; Stella Tennant in a Christopher Kane Swarovski-crystal catsuit; Lily Cole in an Erdem embroidered lace cocktail dress; David Gandy in a Paul Smith suit; and Jourdan Dunn in a jersey tube dress splashed with gold "paint" by Jonathan Saunders.

"I loved the contrast between the gold and white coupled with this refined column silhouette, which I revisit a lot," Saunders said in a statement.

Campbell wore a gold metal embroidered dress and Moss wore gold sequins, both by Alexander McQueen. The models and designers represented the best of modern British fashion.

Could gold be the new black?