The Most Memorable Runway Moments of 2023
From a major debut at Gucci to Sarah Burton’s last bow for Alexander McQueen, this year gave fashion fans a lot to talk about.
If this year in fashion will be remembered by anything, it’ll surely be the constant stream of news announcing the departures and appointments of new creative directors. The musical chairs of the fashion industry’s top spots seemed continuous throughout 2023, and caused both the fall/winter and spring/summer seasons to turn into an array of goodbye (and welcome) parties. Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen, Jeremy Scott at Moschino, and Tom Ford at his eponymous brand were just some of the casualties the fashion community faced. Of course, debuts abounded as well: Sabato De Sarno finally got to prove himself after officially stepping in as head of Gucci, while Pharrell Williams staged his grand debut for Louis Vuitton Mens in Paris. Between it all, there were plenty of other noteworthy moments taking place during both the ready-to-wear and couture seasons. Coperni once again proved its technological chops, while Haider Ackermann made us miss his namesake line even more when he stepped in to design for Jean Paul Gaultier Couture back in January. There were some (literal) wild moments courtesy of Daniel Roseberry at Schiaparelli and, naturally, a whole lot of celebrities. Below, we’re looking back at the ten biggest runway moments of the year—the ones that went viral, brought tears to our eyes, and had us buzzing in anticipation for what’s to come in 2024.
On September 30, Sarah Burton took her final bow as the creative director of Alexander McQueen, saying goodbye to the brand she joined as an intern in 1996. It was an emotional farewell, as Burton took the reins of the house following Lee McQueen’s death in 2010, continuing his legacy of fantastical clothing with heart. Her finale for the brand was another feather in her cap, a show titled Anatomy II, “inspired by female anatomy, Queen Elizabeth I, the blood red rose, and Magdalena Abakanowicz,” according to the show notes. Tailored coats showed off the female form, emphasizing nipped-in waists and sculpted breasts, while slip dresses came with blood-red stitching and depictions of anatomical illustrations by Amé Bourdon. The event closed with Naomi Campbell, who wiped away tears as she walked in a sculpted silver dress covered in glass bugle beads. Next up, Seán McGirr will take over for Burton, with his debut coming in 2024.
Last year, when Coperni made a dress appear on Bella Hadid out of thin air, it left the industry in awe (and made our best runway moments of 2022). This year, creative director Sébastien Meyer and CEO Arnaud Vaillant attempted to recreate the magic of that moment, leaning on technology once again to bring their collection to life. This time, though, humans were replaced by machinery, as dog-like Spot robots from the American company Boston Dynamics stole the show (and some articles of clothing) throughout the presentation.
The Spots roamed the floor, sharing the stage with the models who showed off Coperni’s latest collection. At the apotheosis of the presentation, model Rianne Van Rompaey took center stage wrapped in black fabric, leaning into the yellow and black four-legged robot for a kiss. The machine playfully snatched the jacket right off Van Rompaey’s back before gently handing it back to her. As the show continued, models passed the brand’s Swipe bag back and forth between the Spots. The show notes spoke to the relationship between man and robot, and the balance of power between the two—while many saw it as another attempt at a viral moment as opposed to legitimate fashion commentary, one cannot argue against the repeated success of the former endeavor, at least.
This year wasn’t all about goodbyes. One of the biggest collection premieres, without a doubt, came from Sabato De Sarno, who took over as Gucci creative director following Alessandro Michele’s departure last year. In September, De Sarno showed his first collection for the Italian brand during Milan Fashion Week. De Sarno’s designs did, in part, separate his Gucci from Michele’s, mostly doing away with the extreme maximalism and instead showing re-worked everyday pieces like white t-shirts, loafers, and suits. There was, however, some intrigue in the form of leather blazers, knit rompers, and neon tinsel-covered coats, which proved that while De Sarno is forging his own path, the influence of the house’s former creative directors—including Michele as well as Tom Ford—lives on.
Dutch designers Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren have long embraced the concept of wearable art on the runway, taking the idea of avant-garde to the extreme with each of their presentations. Things were no different at the Viktor & Rolf spring 2023 couture show, where the brand provided a bit of humor to the otherwise decorous air of couture week. Models appeared on the runway in quintessential ball gowns worn in not-so-quintessential ways. One dress stood just to the side of the model, exposing her undergarments as she walked the runway. Another gown completely intersected the bodice of the woman, sticking out behind her like a tulle-covered tail. “It’s an absurd take on the stereotype of a couture ballgown,” Snoeren told Vogue, as well as a commentary on how Internet culture and the ease of manipulating images has affected our sense of reality. “There is a disconnect between what we see, and the physicality of the product,” Snoeren said.
Following the show, only one star was brave enough to bring one of the dresses from the collection to the red carpet: Elsa Hosk, who donned a design at the Cannes Film Festival in May.
The spring/summer 2024 debuts continued at Tom Ford, where the brand’s former menswear designer, Peter Hawkings, stepped in as creative director with his first show during Milan Fashion Week. Like at De Sarno’s Gucci, there were traces of the past weaved within Hawkings collection, as the designer seemed to reference his predecessor’s time at both Tom Ford and Gucci before that. Sex was on the menu in the form of little leather shorts, sheer dresses with low-slung metal belts, and some less overtly provocative (yet still enticing) monochrome satin suits. Models walked the runway in oversize Tom Ford sunglasses, paying homage to the founder, while still making room for this new chapter to come.
Considering Harris Reed’s fall 2023 collection, “All the World’s a Stage,” was Shakespeare-inspired, it was not surprising when the show began with a soliloquy. It was shocking, however, when Oscar-nominated actress Florence Pugh stepped out ahead of the models to perform such a monologue. The actress was dressed in a Reed original—a silver and black sequin harlequin dress with long, dramatic sleeves and a sculptural corset—her blonde hair topped with a halo-style headpiece to match.
“Clothing has a transformative power, whether for an actor, or simply a performer on the stage of life,” she read. “The art of dressing up allows us to express who we truly are, creating a safe space to inhabit in a sometimes judgmental world. Our costumes can change who we want to be seen as, and who we are destined to be. I invite you to embrace the lamé and sequins of life, because all the world’s a stage.”
What followed was a performance in and of itself, as models showed off pieces constructed from black velvet and a luxe gold lamé meant to evoke theater curtains. More toppers allowed the models to reach new heights while voluminous skirts extended their width. It was dramatic in a way that screamed Hollywood as much as it did West End, which was Reed’s intention all along. “London Fashion Week needs a bit more drama,” the designer said, according to the Evening Standard. “I think we get overlooked sometimes. It’s a very American showmanship...let’s make a big moment. I am unapologetically myself.”
New York was on Peter Do’s mind when he designed his first collection as the new creative director of Helmut Lang. The show was likely the most anticipated of New York Fashion Week’s spring/summer season, and on September 8th, Do presented his take on the Helmut Lang minimalism. A mostly black and white collection was broken up with splashes of red, pink, and taxi cab yellow. Classic suits were decorated with seatbelt-like straps, and denim took many forms. Silkscreened pleated skirts and jackets boasted abstract imagery, while button-down shirts were styled backwards, with Vietnamese quotes from author Ocean Vuong printed on the chest. Wearability lived at the center of the collection, an important intention for Do. “I really want to open the conversations to a bigger group of people,” he told W. “I want to create a new system of dressing so that anyone can go to the store and be able to grab a nice suit that doesn’t break the bank, or a pair of jeans that can last you.”
Jean Paul Gaultier’s carousel of couture designers has been quite the success—and the guest spots have been the delight of couture week as Glenn Martens, Olivier Rousteing, and more have taken turns imbuing their aesthetic with Gaultier’s for a single collection. This year, for spring 2023, it was Haider Ackermann’s turn, which was an extra delight as the French designer beloved by Tilda Swinton and Timothée Chalamet hasn’t showing his own collection in about three years.
Luckily (and unsurprisingly), Ackermann did not disappoint, turning out artistic pieces that perfectly combined the designer’s minimalism with Gaultier’s house codes. A marigold dress of folds exploding onto the floor as a men’s coat of tinsel begged for a place on Chalamet’s shoulders. The collection was only made better by the models themselves, who hammed it up for the audience, twisting their bodies to show off all the angles of the garment. It was a throwback to a different time, and proof that despite taking a step back from the regular fashion schedule, Ackermann has not lost an ounce of momentum.
Who would take over Louis Vuitton Men’s following the untimely death of Virgil Abloh in November 2021? Many seasons came and went without an announcement, but in the beginning of this year, the rumor mill (which cycled through every name from Telfar Clemens to Grace Wales Bonner) could finally cease when it was announced that Pharrell Williams would take over the post. Many were dubious about this decision at first, as Williams is much more well known for his work in the music industry, not the world of fashion. But his experience with his own brand Billionaire Boys Club and his relationships with luxury houses like Chanel and even Louis Vuitton himself—as well as his celebrity—made a good enough résumé for LVMH.
Of course, that meant that when it was time for his debut show in June, all eyes were on Williams and the LV Men’s spring 2024 collection—for which Williams did not hold back. He closed down Paris’s Pont Neuf bridge, recruited his famous friends like Rihanna and Kim Kardashian, debuted a new house motif dubbed “Damoflouge,” went all in on accessories, and introduced a new slogan for the house that played on the slogan of his home state: “Virginia is for Lovers.” It was quite the spectacle, one that pulled focus in about every direction other than the clothes. But it got the fashion world talking, which was likely Williams’s plan all along.
...Well, not actually—though a quick look at Daniel Roseberry’s spring 2023 couture collection for the brand could bring on flashbacks from your childhood trips to the circus. Inspired by The Divine Comedy, Roseberry played with “the slippery, house-of-mirrors quality” of Dante’s writing, playing up the surrealist aesthetic for which Schiaparelli is known and sending dresses of leather-covered tin and gold-face models down the runway.
While the collection was filled with exciting looks which have since found their way onto the red carpet, it was a trio of dresses that really caught the public’s attention. A she-wolf, leopard, and lion topped the shoulders of Naomi Campbell, Shalom Harlow, and Shayk respectively—a nod to the three animals Dante meets on his journey, which represent the three divisions of hell and the sins of greed, lust, and pride. In addition, Kylie Jenner, who sat front row at the presentation, wore her own version of Shayk’s lion dress.
The pieces caused a bit of controversy, with some saying they glorified hunting. PETA, though, quickly stepped into the conversation, supporting Schiaparelli, and claiming Jenner’s look “celebrated a lions’ beauty and may be a statement against trophy hunting, in which lion families are torn apart to satisfy human egotism.”
