Field of study
Space: finally, a frontier to get excited about again. Even though the shuttle was retired last year, 2012 saw a boom in all things astronomical, including the Enterprise flying over New York City on the back of a jumbo jet, and Felix Baumgartner’s record-breaking jump from the edge of the stratosphere. And don’t forget about star-spangled, mohawk-wearing hottie Bobak Ferdowsi, who guided NASA’s Mars rover through space and into our hearts.
Easiest target: Lana Del Rey
Doesn’t Lana Del Rey seem as old news as Los del Rio already? Yet it was less than one year ago that she made her strange, wispy debut on “Saturday Night Live,” turning her questionably plump lips and dour songs into an avatar for what everyone hated about modern music fame.
Fitness: The wet Workout
Gym and tonic, anyone? 2012 saw the rise of the “wet workout” at boutique fitness spots across the city, such as Cobra Club and Uplift Studio, which became the first workout space in New York City to open its own bar.
Throwback: One Direction
The charts were alive with the sound of boy bands as imports The Wanted and One Direction battled it out like it was 1999. But it was 1D who came out on top, with two No. 1 albums in the same year and a “Today” show tween stampede for the record books.
Chiseled man-meat: Channing Tatum
This year, Channing Tatum became a bona fide movie star, revealing his comedy chops in “21 Jump Street” and showing off everything else in “Magic Mike.” People’s Sexiest Man Alive proved he was in on the joke and became America’s de facto floor-humping, lovable beefcake.
Theater: Outer-borough debuts
BAM added a stylish third venue. St. Ann’s Warehouse continued to strive in DUMBO. Hunters of cool flocked to Queens’ Secret Theatre and Brooklyn’s Bushwick Starr. Like food and music, theater has expanded its range of offerings outside of Midtown.
America’s sweetheart: Honey Boo Boo
Move over, Julia Roberts. Miss Boo Boo, star of her own runaway reality hit show on TLC, captured our hearts with her “Go Go Juice” guzzling, belly jiggling and ’sketti slinging. You better redneck-ognize!
Media: Cord cutting
In 2012, those who pulled the plug and ditched cable still got to watch the Olympics, the Super Bowl and all the political conventions and debates online, for free, for the first time ever. Add to that the new season of “Arrested Development” that’s coming to Netflix in early 2013, and traditional cable is starting to look more like rabbit ears by the day.
Food truck: Cinnamon Snail
Just when you thought the food-truck trend was about to jump the median, along came the Cinnamon Snail to renew our faith in mobile meals. With funky but lip-smacking vegan menu items such as the “200-Year-Old Frog Man Breakfast Jamboree” (waffles, scrambled tofu and chipotle grilled seitan), the truck draws huge crowds wherever it parks.
Fashion: Decadent dressing
The fall 2012 runways “baroque” past seasons’ minimalist trend, opting instead for head-to-toe embellished looks that glimmered with maximum impact. From the matching tiara-earring-and-necklace sets at Dolce & Gabbana to the jewel-printed frocks at Oscar de la Renta, the more-is-more mantra never looked so good.
With additional reporting by Elisabeth Vincentelli, Gregory Miller, Jane Ridley, Johannah Masters and Anahita Moussavian.