Year in review: Unforgettable fashion moments in 2023

Observe, if you will, this year’s most memorable fashion moments. From the resurgence of Surrealism in fashion, to unsettling red carpet appearances (remember Doja Cat and Jared Leto dressing up as Choupette, the late Karl Lagerfeld’s cat, at the 2023 Met Gala?). There’s nary a dull moment if you look hard enough.

Other highlights in 2023 include the return of Phoebe Philo to fashion (with a hand-painted shearling coat that costs S$30,231, no less) as well as Pharrell Williams debut at Louis Vuitton.

From the red carpet to the runway and everything in between, here are some noteworthy fashion moments in 2023.

SURREALISM IN FASHION

Bookend moments from Schiaparelli’s creative director Daniel Roseberry defined Surrealism as 2023’s main fashion trend: In October, Roseberry unveiled a ready-to-wear collection that featured gigantic crustaceans on evening dresses, measuring tape on lapels and memorably, a bustier dress on Kendall Jenner made up of red lacquer fingernails. Of course, social media is no place for nuance, and if attention is the Holy Grail, then a well-placed lobster could just be the heavy-handed thing to reference Elsa Schiaparelli’s penchant for working with Surrealist artists in the 1930s. In fact, Salvador Dali was a collaborator.

While Roseberry’s stunt pieces showcased the impressive skills of the Schiaparelli atelier, they waded at the shallow end of the Surrealist school and had a design graduate’s understanding of the art movement.

Art critic Andre Breton, who published The Surrealist Manifesto in 1924, defined Surrealism as a medium reuniting the conscious and the unconscious, so that the world of dream and fantasy fused with the everyday world in “an absolute reality, a surreality”. You can see how this applies to couture. The fabulous, and the fabulously rich, have always taken to the fantasy dress-up closet of this art movement, in legendary costume parties, such as Count Carlos de Beistegui’s 1951 Le Bal Oriental, and the Surrealist Ball of 1972, hosted by Guy and Marie-Helene de Rothschild.

Surrealism is profoundly expressed in some of the most important fashion moments in 2023 – one need only look at Iris Van Herpen’s organic/futuristic creations, or JW Anderson’s hoodies made of clay. Extraordinary, Loewe shoes have lilac soap, or lightbulb for heels, while Bottega Veneta trompe-l’oeil plaid shirts and knitted socks are made from lambskin. Viktor & Rolf showed sideways and upside-down tulle ballgowns in January. Launched for Christmas, Louis Vuitton’s 11 limited-edition handbags designed by architect Frank Gehry is the epitome of Surrealism, blurring the lines of the bags with what looked like pieces of his best-known buildings such as Bilbao's Guggenheim Museum.

And then we have the Balenciaga Towel Skirt (S$1,250) released online in November. Made of beige terry cotton, and fastened with hidden buttons, the skirt became the object of trolling by Ikea.

The furniture giant’s Instagram introduced an almost-identical version of the skirt – the Vinarn towel, captioned as “a 2024 spring fashion essential”, was modelled by a gormless pale man (a type preferred by Balenciaga) styled mirroring the Balenciaga visual, complete with a black hoodie, menacing shades, relaxed khakis and black shoes. The punchline was the price for the Ikea towel – a mere S$12.50. And just like that, a meme was born in a moment that gave marketing back all the sparkling levity, mischievous irony, and lustre that it had long lost. Of course, Balenciaga has a long history of re-purposing the aesthetics of mass consumer goods – in particular, it earned its stripes selling a S$2,996 blue tote bag that looked identical to Ikea's shopping bag that costs only S$1.

ZARA AND THE RAVAGES OF WAR

In November, Zara, the Spanish fast fashion retailer, faced backlash for its advertising campaign called The Jacket. Shot by the esteemed Tim Walker, and modelled by supermodel Kristen McMenamy, the campaign’s imagery of shattered walls and embalmed mannequins angered many who thought the white body wrapping looked similar to victims of the Gaza conflict. The images, posted to Zara's official social media channels, sparked off a mutinous furore for mocking the destruction in one of the most violent conflicts of all time. Zara issued an apology and removed the images from its official accounts. The fashion giant stated that the images were created well before the war had broken out, and any offense was unintended but the damage had been done.

With dual American and British Vogue covers for the September issue and an Apple TV+ documentary, 2023 was a huge comeback year for Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell and Cindy Crawford, the original supermodels. Although it was Evangelista’s reemergence after the purported botched body-contouring debacle that transfixed with her vulnerability, the group’s enduring appeal is worthy of celebration and study.

Her book with photographer Steven Meisel dropped in October and the four of them got together for the first time in many years, appeared at Vogue Night Out for London Fashion Week (with Kate Moss), and hopped to Milan for the Fendi show. The supermodel moment extended beyond the fab four of course: Claudia Schiffer returned to the runway at Versace’s spring 2024 runway show; Shalom Harlow and Amber Valletta among many others walked shows throughout 2023. Tatjana Patiz, the German supermodel, would have very much been part of this moment, but unfortunately, she succumbed to cancer on Jan 11, age 56.

The supermodel remains relevant today not only because she reflects the global ageing demographic, but because in a world awash with anodyne influencers who embody no intrinsic value, the supermodel is the archetypal influencer who wrote the playbook for the model-as-celebrity, and with the years has grown graceful and wise.

MAGGIE SMITH’S FASHION MOMENT

Jonathan Anderson has a knack for buzzy Loewe ads that hit the zeitgeist, and his latest campaign (October, to be precise) sees Dame Maggie Smith of Downton Abbey and Harry Potter fame, looking impossibly spry and bemused in a lush shearling coat and modelling the Puzzle bag. We’re here for the octogenarian legend, and a hip, hip hooray!

THE BARBIE EFFECT

Margot Robbie brought the iconic Mattel 1959 Barbie pink wardrobe back to bubbly life onscreen and on the Barbie movie press tour, recreating looks from a historic, albeit plastic, wardrobe. Greta Gerwig’s summer hit established Barbie Pink the colour of the year, as predicted by Pantone, who named the rose shade Viva Magenta.

The movie unleased the inner Barbie of Hollywood stars and Chinese influencers alike, and the tsunami of all-pink outfits became the hottest trend on social media platforms – “Barbiecore” was born and its hashtag on TikTok garnered over 365 million views (and growing). Barbiecore is made for virality because it is completely democratic: Dopamine-inducing pink is available at all price points, isn’t age- or shape-specific, and it’s accessible to all. Trends like “quiet luxury,” or “old rich” depend on expensive and educated taste, so would never become viral. Barbiecore influenced everything, down to pink interiors and menswear – the generic Inter Miami football jersey, released in an unexpected shade of pink, sold out instantly.

The coronation ceremony of King Charles III included global royalty in full formal regalia and a star-studded RSVP list, but in a breathtaking moment of pure glamour. The King and Queen of Thailand, Maha Vajiralongkorn and Suthida, stepped out at Westminster Abbey in London on May 6 to a worldwide gasp: King Vajiralongkorn looked impossibly smart in military regalia, while Queen Suthida stole the show in a sharply tailored traditional ensemble laden with enormous legendary sapphires, and a hand-woven basket bag made of vines, known as a Yan Lipao, which instantly set social media on fire. And that’s how Yan Lipao basketry, an age-old weaving craft from Southern Thailand, became an instant fashion hit.

THAI ACTORS FASHION BREAKOUT MOMENT

In a related story on Thailand’s soft power offensive, global luxury brands are signing Thai actors to leverage the stars’ massive appeal internationally. With an army of intense supporters bigger than some countries have citizens, it’s little wonder that they have become a valuable marketing vehicle for fashion brands who are always seeking the next new and shiny thing. And Thai actors, specifically those starring in Boys’ Love dramas, are this-century new, the niche genre having broken out into the mainstream only in recent years. The beautiful boys elicit rabidly high engagement on social media, on par with, and induce a fanaticism that’s typically only seen with South Korean stars.

This seems to be the watershed year for Thai actors’ fashion domination: Apo (Nattawin Wattanagitiphat) and Mile (Phakphum Romsaithong) were named Dior Homme’s ambassadors this summer; Bright (Vachirawit Chivaaree), who starred in the hit 2gether: The Series and F4 Thailand was unveiled by Calvin Klein as its new face, together with a Burberry ambassadorship; Bright’s co-star, Win (Metawin Opas-Iamkajorn), has also made a big impact, signed to Prada as ambassador, and a face for Tiffany & Co. Then there’s Jeff Satur for Valentino, Gulf Kanawut at Gucci to name but a few. PP Krit became Balenciaga’s first-ever male ambassador. Where these Thai actors go, a moving feast of media attends and so we won’t be seeing the last of them at global events, front rows, red carpets and on ads and magazine covers.

What is fashion without its revolving door appointments? This year witnessed the second coming of British designer Phoebe Philo, who exited Celine in 2017, and who has been mourned ever since. Has a designer’s return ever received such breathless coverage as Philo’s? Did the world go naked since 2017? Philo teased an eponymous label in 2021, and finally it dropped in October this year. The veneration was biblical. The fashion flock is sheep.

Other notable movements: Sarah Burton, the British designer who succeeded Alexander McQueen, after his suicide, exits the brand she had led for 13 years in September; Sean McGirr was named as Burton’s successor. Tom Ford left his namesake label he founded 20 years ago, appointing Peter Hawkings as its new creative director. Pharrell Williams had his first Louis Vuitton men’s show on Pont Neuf in July and the debut was a smash hit. Burberry begot Daniel Lee, and Helmut Lang is designed by Peter Do.

THE FINAL EXITS

Fashion bid a final adieu to many of its important creators in 2023. Foremost is Marc Bohan, the longest-serving creative director at Christian Dior where he spent nearly 30 years. Bohan died at 97 in September. Because he worked in an era before fashion became social media fodder, Bohan wasn’t celebrated as much as he deserved for surviving the head-spinning fashion cycles of the fickle fashion world, and for his quietly sumptuous couture.

Appointed head couturier at Dior in 1960, taking over Yves Saint Laurent, Bohan remained through the gilded 1980s, helming Dior far longer than Christian Dior himself had, and dressed the likes of Elizabeth Taylor and Princesses Grace and Caroline of Monaco.

Mary Quant, the fashion rebel that invented the mini skirt died in April, aged 93. Paco Rabanne, the fashion futurist, died in February, aged 88.  

Lastly, the lovely Jane Birkin, the fashion legend, and a great English beauty, died on Jul 16, age 76. Birkin was a style icon in her own right, quite aside from the iconic Hermes bag that she spawned. She leaves behind not only some stunningly beautiful fashion images and movies, but a genre of style that lingers like a mysterious perfume, made up of ‘morning after’ hair, a boyish gap-tooth grin, oversized men’s blazers, rattan bags, ballet flats and overstuffed handbags laden with charms.

Bohan, and Birkin are just some who, turning off some of the magical lights, closed a few more chapters that illuminate the story of fashion. Goodbye, fashion, goodbye.