This season, fashion month felt like a carnivalesque class reunion. The SS23 shows in NYC, London, Milan and Paris – and the accompanying street style spectacles – were equal parts a celebration of clothing and a grand farewell (or swank middle finger, depending on who you ask) to the pandemic era.

Memorable moments include Bella Hadid closing the Coperni show with a dress that was sprayed onto her, Gucci’s 68 identical twin models, YZY’s “White Lives Matter” t-shirts and its accompanying heated debate, the one and only Cher strutting for Balmain, and Balenciaga’s dystopian, mud-covered catwalk.

Elsewhere, others skipped social media bait for the serious. Several London designers including Richard Quinn and Bora Aksu paid tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II. In New York, Gabriella Hearst tapped climate activist Xiye Bastida and former Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards to appear in her show, while Fe Noel’s paper money gown urged onlookers to discuss the gender pay gap. In Milan, Maximilian Davis had a gloriously sultry first outing at Ferragamo and in Paris, Ib Kamara’s cobalt blue-hued debut for Off-White celebrated Virgil Abloh’s legacy while writing new codes.

No matter what message they were sending, this season saw both established and emerging designers usher in the return to normalcy with show-stopping looks that are guaranteed to be cannibalised for months to come. Here are four trends that caught our eye.

SCULPTURAL STATEMENT PIECES

If you thought designers would stick to soft, Zoom-ready silhouettes post-pandemic, you couldn’t be more wrong. Houses of all sizes celebrated social re-engagement with bold sculptural pieces that demanded an audience. At Loewe, Jonathan Anderson replaced tops with giant, phallic anthurium motifs and 3D caged structures jutting out from otherwise minimal garments.

At a star-studded event on New York’s Madison Avenue, Area opened with a cage dress made of denim and featuring jumbo gold spikes. Exaggerated spikes circulated throughout the collection in the form of headdresses and belts. Toying with concepts of fetish and architecture, the collection also included oversized folded bows covered in rhinestones. In Paris, Louis Vuitton swapped its streetwear bend for whimsical frocks with playful proportions including supersized zippers that broke manufacturing records, and gigantic press studs on dresses and jackets.

GLAM GRUNGE

It’s no secret that the 90s styles are back in fashion. But this time, grunge has grown up and gone glam This season, designers from all walks of reinterpreted the characteristic loose, thrifted aesthetic with sophisticated cuts and luxe fabrics. The chokers, dark make-up and flannel that marked counterculture were now mixed with finely tailored blazers and expensive shoulder bags creating a playful style bridge.

In a surprising twist, the usually vibrant Versace showed mostly-black looks in a collection it described as “a goddess gone grunge,” complete with clingy black jersey dresses with slits, black biker jackets, platform mary janes, and low-slung jeans. Kate Moss turned heads at Bottega Veneta in a finely-cut oversized blue checkered shirt and a white tank top in a look that would feel at home at a Nirvana concert. Givenchy’s take on the trend included ruffled chiffon tops with denim shorts.

A GIRLISH TOUCH

At a time when women around the globe are raging against governmental machines the overturning of Roe v. Wade in the United States, morality police in Iran and unequal pay almost everywhere come to mind, the dainty, ultra-feminine accents that labels such as Thom Browne, Givenchy, and Lanvin added to their collections stood out. Satin pink panties, lace bralettes, and coquettish bows, adding a new dimension to collections that otherwise tapped into a more mature, brash vision of womanhood.

Inspired by an operatic interpretation of Cinderella and American prom culture, Thom Browne offered ruffled pastel overcoats, corsages on evening gloves, and polka dot suits. Chanel introduced new tweed separates in shades of buttercream and baby pink alongside flower-accented belts and heart-shaped bags. At Burberry, a “goths on the beach” theme bred white lace and pink satin baby doll dresses layered on top of cutout bodysuits and mesh dresses. Set on a pink carpet with a maze of satin beds, Acne Studios' show featured pastel bows on lace and tule mini-dresses, peach-coloured dresses with applique hearts, and gingham sets with rosettes.

FLASHY FRINGE

There was no greater signal that fashion enthusiasts are back on the go than the love affair many houses seemed to have with fringe this season. The strips of fabric that hang from clothing and exaggerate the wearer's walk popped up in leather, silk, beads, and more, each making adding movement and wonder to the clothing they were attached to. Bottega Vanetta’s bright, feathery fringe dresses rippled in shades of tiger lily orange, robin’s egg blue, and banana yellow like a jungle-themed kaleidoscope. Zimmerman used angled fringe to bring otherwise simple white and rust-colored dresses to life and add beach-inspired flair. Underscoring its homage to grunge, Versace offered its take on the oversize fringed leather jacket and added fringed accents to amethyst, studded leather pants.

Words Amber Nicole Alston

Published on 15/10/2022