The moments that defined fashion in 2024 – from Blackpink’s Lisa to Moo Deng

From Arnault to Zendaya, these moments encapsulate the mercurial and swiftly changing landscape of the fashion world in 2024.

Fashion is no longer just about pretty clothes on skinny rich people — it’s a reflection of broader cultural shifts, personal identity, and social movements. Here we winnow down to an alphabet of 2024’s most influential fashion moments.

A IS FOR ARNAULT: THE FALL OF LUXURY

The once unstoppable growth of luxury brands slowed dramatically. The year 2024 marked a significant drop in revenue in the luxury market as the dominance of conglomerates like LVMH (led by Bernard Arnault) and Kering (led by Francois-Henri Pinault) was challenged. While still incredibly wealthy, Arnault’s fortune fell from first place to fifth place on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index in April, reflecting a shift in consumer preferences and the impact of global wars, trade wars, inflation and general economic uncertainty. A younger consumer base — especially Gen Z and millennials — has started to prioritise sustainability, inclusivity, and digital engagement over traditional luxury markers, like exclusivity and heritage.

B IS FOR BLAZY, C IS FOR CHANEL: A SIGNIFICANT VACANCY FILLED

Where were you when the news broke that Virginie Viard had stepped down from Chanel on Jun 5? After five years of mixed reviews, the beleaguered Viard finally bowed out after 30 years at Chanel – to sighs of relief and instant frenzied speculation as to who would fill the big creative shoes left by Karl Lagerfeld who died in 2019.

With the announcement that Matthieu Blazy, Franco-Belgian designer as Chanel’s new artistic director, on Dec 12, the insider-intrigue and speculation have ended with a thud. Generally lauded as the best thing since Jonathon Anderson went to Loewe, Blazy had set Bottega Veneta ablaze with his protean inventiveness as its creative director of only three years. The fashion world can now uncross its collective legs and finally move on. Until the next designer drama.

D IS FOR DRIES VAN NOTEN AND THE DESIGNER CAROUSEL

Creative director upheavals have roiled fashion in 2024 with many big designers exiting heritage houses, a symptom of an industry in flux. The designer musical chairs this year is not for the faint of heart.

Blazy’s vacancy at Bottega Veneta was swiftly filled by British Louise Trotter, who was creative director at Carven prior to this appointment. Tom Ford now has Haider Ackermann at its creative helm following the ouster of Peter Hawkings, who was its creative director for less than a year. Sarah Burton was named creative director of Givenchy, in September, having left Alexander McQueen last year. Major vacancies still need filling after exits from the likes of Hedi Slimane at Celine, Kim Jones from Fendi, and Filippo Grazioli from Missoni. Peter Do parted ways with Helmut Lang in November, making hardly a dent at the iconic 1990s label. After a much-lauded 25-year run, Pierpaolo Piccioli exited Valentino in March, a vacancy quickly filled by Alessandro Michele, formerly at Gucci. Michele has just unveiled his first runway for Valentino – with no surprises – a reprisal of his madcap maximalist styling from Gucci. Lastly, the iconic Dries Van Noten showed his last collection in June, after four decades in fashion — a glorious, cerebral, and refined creative vision that will be sorely missed. Irreplaceable, Van Noten has simply retired in one of the most graceful ways possible in fashion today: no hoopla, no speculation, zero histrionics. A gentle bow, and there we go.

G IS FOR GALLIANO: A GLORIOUS GOODBYE

John Galliano, the British couturier, a once-in-a-lifetime genius, confirmed his exit from Maison Margiela in December, after 10 breathtaking years, with a long and personal social media announcement that caused a meltdown in the fashion world.

This moment served as a bookend to the other Galliano moment in January, when he presented Maison Margiela’s Artisanal Spring 2024 Collection, which crashed the internet and still remains one of the most widely discussed couture collections ever — 12 months later, which in fashion terms, is an eternity. The collection inspired viral social media videos, hit the Met Gala red carpet, became a touring exhibition, was the subject of talks, and inspired a Baz Luhrmann short film. It made stars of Pat McGrath, who created the glass doll makeup for the show, Leon Dame, the androgynous German model who opened the show with his lupine, predatory walk, and actress Gwendoline Christie, the British giantess who closed the show in a rubbery Edwardian nurse’s garb.

I IS FOR IRIS APFEL: THE GOLDEN GIRLS OF FASHION

In March, the world lost the iconic style parakeet Iris Apfel, who died at age 102. Apfel was the last of 20th-century fashion originals, very much in the same tradition as Diana Vreeland, Anna Piaggi and Andre Leon Talley, if far less grand. Apfel was an American decorator with a throw-it-all-on signature style, which was loudly hued and screechy printed: If one bold bangle was divine, she wore 20, along with gigantic owlish spectacles and a garish lip, no earring was too much of a windchime to hang onto an ear. Polly Allen Mellen, the former Vogue stylist whose legacy is her work with iconic photographers like Richard Avedon, Irving Penn and Helmut Newton, died at age 100 earlier in December. Her work at Vogue and Allure is legendary and is the grande dame of all fashion stylists that have come after her – she invented the genre. In September, Dame Maggie Smith died at 89. The erstwhile Loewe poster girl, and acclaimed stage and screen actress, is looking down from heaven now, with her wicked humour and raised eyebrows.

L IS FOR LALISA: OF LABUBU AND LUXURY HEIR

Lalisa had another huge moment – and no, we don’t count her outing at the dismal Victoria’s Secret show anything of note – she singlehandedly made Labubu, a plushie with a menacing grimace, a global sensation. In April, Lisa shared images of Labubu on her social media, swiftly igniting a global frenzy for the dolls. Designed by artist Kasing Lung and sold by Pop Mart, a Chinese toy company, all iterations of Labubu became viral across Asia. Lalisa transformed Labubu from a niche collectible into a status symbol, with frantic queuing and violent competition, reselling, scam deals, rocketing prices, counterfeits, and other madnesses. There’s a lesson in there for luxury brands.

J IS FOR JOOLS LEBRON: THE RISE, AND SURPRISE, OF A NEW INFLUENCER

Jools Lebron was a Chicago-based cashier before the word “demure” made her into a TikTok sensation with over 2 million followers. The would-be beauty influencer and trans-woman instantly became a cult figure with just a few “demure” videos posted in August 2024, and her fame is now cemented by Dictionary.com, declaring “demure” as its 2024 Word of the Year.

The plus-sized, blonde-wigged Lebron has defined demure as a way of being, a way of dressing, a manner of eating frozen pizza, or pulling Target leggings right up to the ribs, a sort of quiet luxury but with more polyester kind of glamour. She’s simply taken the fashion world by storm, with fashionistas paying tribute to her in post after post. Blazy was so taken with Lebron that he invited her to the Bottega Veneta Spring show in Milan where she sat front row, in fashion heaven. Lebron is significant for being a sign of social media moving away from the tediously identical influencers flogging all too similar merch, towards a more realistic and individualistic model. Lebron also shows how social media can reshape language and culture — she has redefined “demure,” taking it from passive, repressed and humble, and transforming it into a symbol of camp, confidence and quiet rebellion.

M IS FOR MOO DENG: THE PYGMY HIPPO THAT COULD

In 2024, one of the most unexpected — and captivating —fashion moments came from the viral success of a pygmy hippo named Moo Deng, which arrived on the scene in Khao Kheow Open Zoo’s (Chonburi, Thailand) campaign to raise awareness for the endangered species. She quickly went viral, capturing hearts globally with her adorably curves and bizarre antics. The hip hippo turned into a full-fledged fashion movement when her image was adopted by a number of brands, and even inspired makeup tutorials designed to make hippos out of demure girls. The zoo then released a line of merchandise, which included clothing, accessories and… makeup, merch that sold out within hours of each release. The pygmy hippo’s journey is proof that anything — no matter how niche or unexpected — can take the world by storm.

R IS FOR ROBERTO CAVALLI: DESIGN ICON WHO DIED

In April, designer Roberto Cavalli passed away at 83, and gone is that bold, effervescent sexiness that is a particularly Italian thing. His work was never overthought, overwrought, and introspective. His designs were beloved of the world’s biggest stars because of that positive, gut-felt blast of yang, which was expressed in embellished stretch jeans, loud animal print, clashing colour and gold decoration that was the definition of vulgar Noughties excess. In February, we also lost the great Claude Montana, 76, whose work indelibly defined the 1980s in fashion. Montana, who was previously at Lanvin, became iconic for the exaggerated monster shoulders that continue to be referenced today.

U IS FOR UNIQLO: THE UBIQUITY OF MASS FASHION

It’s the uniform of Singapore men – and everywhere else, it seems. This year, Uniqlo has solidified its global leadership in fashion with the brand’s commitment to fashion innovation, with its strategic collaborations with top designers such as Jonathan Anderson, Christophe Lemaire, and Jil Sander. In September, Clare Waight Keller, the British designer renowned for her tenure at Givenchy and Chloe, was appointed Uniqlo’s first full-time creative director. Her role marks a glow-up for Uniqlo, giving more of a high fashion edge to its classics. Similarly, Zac Posen has returned to fashion with his recent appointment as creative director at GAP, an effort to revitalise the American retailer’s relevance in the market. Increasingly, the luxury tier of fashion is becoming indistinguishable from the masses, in meeting the evolving demands of consumers worldwide.

W IS FOR PRINCE WILLIAM’S BEARD: A RIGHT ROYAL UPROAR

And we do not mean Princess Catherine. In an unexpected moment, Prince William’s decision to embrace a beard this year sparked widespread debate (is he hotter with or without?), a grooming meltdown for British men, and a surge in facial hair transplant procedures. Traditionally, men of the royal family have maintained a clean-shaven and highly groomed appearance, a symbol of British decorum. Prince William’s new look signals a more relaxed masculinity, and the unstoppable march of scruffiness and facial hair. Oh, for a clean-shaven jawline!

Z IS FOR ZENDAYA: THE LAST WORD IN FASHION MOMENTS

Zendaya came completely into her own iconic era in 2024, delivering many longed-for fashion moments on the red carpet. She became the poster girl for archival dressing and paraded a collection of stunning, and well-researched finds, from 1980s Yves Saint Laurent to Noughties Versace. Zendaya cemented her status as queen of the archives, and her stylist Law Roach as the queen of flat-ironed hair, when on the Dune: Part Two premiere, she stepped out in a Thierry Mugler futuristic suit of armour from the 1995 haute couture collection. She looked like a modern-day Joan of Arc, and quite literally “slay”.

Zendaya continued her triumphant wins at the 2024 Met Gala in the form of a never-worn-before Givenchy by John Galliano gown from spring/summer 1996. Then there was that absolutely fabulous 2001 Bob Mackie, as she paid homage to Cher. The girl could do no wrong – and that is the definition of an It girl. It’s thanks to these vintage stunners that Zendaya has become a symbol of fashion versatility, seamlessly navigating fashions of the past in bold fashion choices without ever seeming overdone. Zendaya’s influence has solidified her position as one of the most important style icons of the year — and possibly for the years to come.