Some measure a year in time: time spent at work, away from work, in front of a screen, away from a screen. Others do so in milestones: a promotion, a new apartment, an addition to the family. At Vogue Runway, the year is measured in seasons—spring, fall, and everything in between—and in fashion moments.
Remember when Daniel Roseberry went viral for his faux taxidermy animaux at Schiaparelli in January, and then again in November for his guest starring appearance opposite North West in The Kardashians? Recall the Super Bowl halftime show? Don’t ask us who won, or who even played; we’re talking about the instant Rihanna revealed her second pregnancy wearing custom Loewe and Alaïa.
Speaking of big reveals, this was the year that Pharrell Williams took over Louis Vuitton men’s with a massive show on the Pont Neuf in Paris that he capped off with a performance where he was joined by Jay-Z. This was also the year of Beyoncé’s Renaissance and Taylor Swift’s Eras tours, and their many custom-made looks. In the absence of red carpets this summer, these tours offered brands the opportunity to remain visible, and us observers the joy of experiencing fashion at its boldest.
With dual American and British Vogue September covers and an Apple TV+ documentary, 2023 was also a big year for Linda, Christy, Naomi, and Cindy. The original Supers were once again dominating pop culture, though Linda Evangelista’s reemergence post-Coolsculpting debacle won the most hearts. On the topic of returns, welcome back, Phoebe Philo!
Ah, but as is the case in any year, 2023 bore witness to the end of a few eras, too, most significantly Sarah Burton’s at Alexander McQueen. The beloved designer left her post at the house she helped build after 26 years with one of the most touching fashion shows of recent times. Burton left quietly with no big interviews, her show being her one closing statement, but her exit started a conversation nonetheless. Why are most creative directors at luxury houses white men? That’s a question we’ll be digging into well into 2024.
Daniel Roseberry Breaks the Internet With Faux Taxidermy Animaux
At the January couture shows, Schiaparelli’s Daniel Roseberry woke all of us up from our holiday slumbers with a trio of faux taxidermy animals. A leopard leapt from Shalom Harlow’s bodice, a wolf was draped around Naomi Campbell’s torso, and lion heads perched on the belle poitrines of Irina Shayk (on the runway) and Kylie Jenner (sitting front row). Were they shining examples of the impressive skills of the Schiaparelli atelier, or was it a stunt too far for the sake of shock value? The Internet is no place to find nuance, but if you’re looking for attention it’s where you’re sure to find it. His follow-up, a very intimate fall ready-to-wear show, proved that Roseberry can do understated elegance too; one of his all-black looks was just worn by Michelle Williams at the Gotham Awards.
Haider Ackermann Returns to the Runway With an Assist From Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner. Oh!…and Jean Paul Gaultier.
The January couture’s other most talked-about show was Haider Ackermann’s turn as guest-designer at Jean Paul Gaultier. With its serpentine gowns and elegant, elongating tailoring, the collection was a spellbinding reminder of Ackermann’s talents. But there’s another reason why folks are still talking about it. The Internet is convinced that this is where Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner first linked up. They’re a pairing as surprising as Ackermann and Gaultier, and arguably equally as transfixing.
Oh Baby! Rihanna Scores a Touchdown At the Super Bowl, Announces Her Second Pregnancy in Loewe and Alaïa
No list of the year’s defining fashion moments would be complete without a mention of Miss Robyn Rihanna Fenty. Returning to the stage after a five-year live performance hiatus at the Super Bowl halftime show, the artist-turned-mogul gestured at her pregnancy bump as she started her set. And she did it in a custom-made Loewe boiler suit and chest plate and an Alaïa leather coat. We’ve said this before and we’ll say it again: No one does it like her.
Meet the New Kids On the Block
Nothing captivates fashion folk like a debut, and 2023 ushered in a handful of new eras. Sabato De Sarno slid into the driver’s seat at Gucci, Peter Hawkings stepped in for Tom Ford at Tom Ford, and Peter Do took the helm at Helmut Lang. Nothing came close to Pharrell Williams’s $42.6M MIV (Media Impact Value) takeover as creative director for Louis Vuitton men’s—and not just because he staged it on the Pont Neuf above the River Seine in Paris. The mogul/designer expanded on Virgil Abloh’s whimsy while leaning into the idiosyncrasies of his own style. There was “Damouflage” galore, and a new men’s It-bag in the form of a leather Soft Speedy.
The Year Fashion Lost Its Pants
It’s one thing to go pantless on the runway, and another thing entirely to do it on the street. So all hail It-girl Edie Sedgwick for making the no-pants look a thing back in the ’60s and celebrities from Hailey Bieber and Emma Corrin to Jodie Turner-Smith and Nicki Minaj (on the pages of this very magazine) who have revived the trend for 2023.
Karl’s Chanel Gets New Life at the Met Gala
The Met Gala has become fashion’s leading stage for unearthing vintage treasures. Last year it was Kim Kardashian in Marylin Monroe’s “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” dress; this year it was all about archival Chanel. Margot Robbie, Nicole Kidman, and co-hosts Dua Lipa and Penelope Cruz pulled pieces from Karl Lagerfeld’s early collections—his oeuvre was the subject of the Costume Institute’s exhibition, after all. The dress code for the 2024 edition of the Gala is yet to be announced, but its title, “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion,” suggests we’ll be seeing another slew of vintage hits on the Met steps.
It Should Cost a Billion to Look this Good: Beyoncé Makes A Runway Out of Her Renaissance Tour
Loewe, Courrèges, Mugler, Marni, Diesel, Jean Paul Gaultier, Alexander McQueen—the list goes on. Beyoncé took her critically and commercially acclaimed seventh studio album, Renaissance, on a world tour this summer. The concerts were a testament to Beyoncé’s mesmerizing talents as a performer, but it was her custom-made looks that we couldn’t stop talking about. Each and every one of the 56 tour dates featured at least one new look, and by the end of it all the list of designers featured read something like Lyst’s hottest brands index. If it matters, then Beyoncé wore it.
100 Years of Richard Avedon Laid Bare in New York City
This year would’ve been Richard Avedon’s 100th birthday. To celebrate the late photographer’s storied career, New York’s Gagosian Gallery premiered “Avedon 100,” an exhibition and accompanying tome featuring iconic images from his stunning body of work, curated by some of the very people he photographed. One hundred and fifty artists, designers, musicians, and other cultural figures from Elton John and Hillary Clinton to Cindy Crawford and Versuchka were invited to select an Avedon image meaningful to them. Needless to say, the opening of the exhibition in May attracted all sorts of fashion glitterati, making it one of the you had to be there moments of the year.
The SAG-Aftra Strike and All the Press Tours That Could Have Been
The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists went on strike on July 14, 2023. Lasting for 118 days, it was the longest work stoppage in the union’s history, and, together with the Writers Guild of America strike, it resulted in the loss of well over 40,000 jobs. Less documented are the strikes’ impact on the fashion industry—stylists, tailors, seamstresses, and other industry professionals were out of work as actors were forced to stop making press appearances. Some of the year’s most awaited films, together with the most anticipated press tours, were pushed to 2024. There was no Dune: Part Two and no Challengers, either, which means we saw a lot less of Zendaya, she of the newly-minted Louis Vuitton ambassadorship contract. Pour one out for the red carpet pictures that could have been, and let’s hope folks get their jobs back now that the strikes are over.
The Jane Birkin Effect
Hermès’s Birkin has to be the handbag with the most pop cultural cachet in history. From plotlines in Sex the City and Gilmore Girls to references in songs by Beyoncé and Cardi B, this is the bag everyone knows by name. That might help explain why the death of its eponym, Jane Birkin, on July 16, 2023, had such an effect on fashion this year—that she was a style icon in her own right has something to do with it too, of course. Well beyond the Hermès runway, we saw handbags decorated with trinkets in the late actress’s signature style, often overstuffed, the way she carried her own Birkin. But rather than a direct ode, this was more a matter of aesthetic synergy—turns out Birkin was right all along on how we should carry our bags, and the runways agreed. TikTok christened this microtrend the “Jane Birkin effect”—the search term has currently just under a billion views.
Surprise! Daria Is Back, Just Not Where You Expected Her
When Phoebe Philo announced her return back in 2021, one of the first names that came to everyone’s minds was Daria Werbowy. Part muse and part doppelganger, Werbowy helped define Philo’s look for Céline from the moment she appeared in the brand’s spring 2011 campaign. Having walked away from fashion in 2016, the Canadian-Ukrainian has been hard to coax back. If anyone could do it, the thinking went, it would be Philo. Well, Werbowy did return to fashion this year, but it was in Sabato De Sarno’s first campaign for Gucci where she reappeared. The pair have been friends for over 20 years, since her early days as a model and his as an assistant at Prada. It may not have been the comeback we expected, but the delight was real.
Super Fever: Linda, Naomi, Christy, and Cindy Reunite on the Pages of Vogue—and on Your Screens
Linda, Naomi, Christy, Cindy. Of all that’s been said about original Supermodels, what’s really worth discussing is their staying power. Since they started walking the runways in the late ’80s, their every move has transfixed the industry, though this might have been one of their biggest years yet. There was the Apple TV+ series The Super Models, which documented their rise, there was Linda Evangelista’s book with Steven Meisel, and, of course, there was a pair of Vogue September covers featuring all of them together for the first time in many years. The craze extended beyond the fab four, too. Claudia Schiffer returned to the runway at Versace’s spring 2024 runway show.
“And You, You Will Be Queen”: Sarah Burton Exits McQueen With a Heroic Show
When Sarah Burton took over for the late Lee Alexander McQueen back in 2010, the house was entrusted to the person McQueen himself trusted most. Over her 13 years at the helm, Burton made it her own without failing to honor her mentor’s legacy. This September, after 26 years at the brand, she exited McQueen with a brilliant collection she dedicated to Lee, “whose wish was always to empower women, and to the passion, talent, and loyalty of my team.” David Bowie’s “Heroes” played as she took her final bow and there was not a dry eye in the room—or on our couches, for those of us who tuned into the livestream.
PETA Infiltrates the Spring 2024 Runways
Every fashion season has a surprise appearance or two—a person you wouldn’t expect to see sitting in the front row or walking down the runway. At the September shows, it was PETA representatives, who, having helped to make fur unfashionable, aimed their sights on a new target, leather and exotic skins, and infiltrated one show in each of the four main fashion capitals, to register their protests.
White, Male, Cis—Creative Directors All Look the Same and the Internet Has Thoughts
One of fashion’s biggest stories of the year was the fact that most creative directors at European houses look the same, or at least represent the same demographic: white, male, and cis. After Sarah Burton’s exit from Alexander McQueen, the Internet became fixated on this issue: Where are the female designers? Actually, they’re everywhere. They’re just not being hired for roles at the world’s largest luxury houses, but instead are building their own right in front of you. See Tory Burch, Martine Rose, Grace Wales Bonner, Emily Adams Bode Aujlia, Hillary Taymour of Collina Strada, Diotima’s Rachel Scott.
Maggie Smith, Budding Supermodel
From Taylor Russell and Omar Apollo to Taeyong and Greta Lee, Jonathan Anderson has a knack for identifying buzzy emerging talents and putting them in Loewe ads. For his latest campaign, he went in a different direction, booking Dame Maggie Smith of Downton Abbey and the House of Gryffindor fame. In a lush shearling coat and a new colorway of the Puzzle bag, Smith delighted the Internet with her guest role as the Loewe woman. We’re all here for the rise of the octogenarian model.
Phinally! Phoebe Philo Returns
Has a designer’s early retirement and subsequent return ever received as much coverage as Phoebe Philo’s? The designer exited Céline in 2017, leaving her customer base without its sartorial oracle. What will people wear now? was the question everyone tried to answer in her absence, other designers included, and to say that a number of worthy alternatives did not emerge would be a disservice to them. In 2021, Philo announced she would return with an eponymous label. The first drop was finally unveiled in October of this year, and there was no critic who did anything other than praise it. How could they not? Philo offered a blueprint for her fans to return to form.
A Famine of Beauty No More: Hunter Schafer Revived the Red Carpets with The Hunger Games
After almost four months without red carpets, Hunter Schafer and her new stylist Dara Allen resuscitated film premiere dressing on the press circuit for The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds Snakes. Schafer has never played it sartorially safe, but she upped the ante with numbers like the painterly Schiaparelli fall 2023 couture look she wore in Berlin, the custom Prada set based on the fan-favorite spring 2009 show, and that Marni floral dress from Franceso Risso’s spring 2024 collection. These are not your usual red carpet looks, but the kind of straight-of-the-runways pieces that supers fans would choose for themselves. That Schafer and Allen are both trans women only adds to how special this moment is. We are so back—’tis a famine of beauty no more.
