by The race to go viral in 2023 has produced many weird and campy fashion moments.
Kylie Jenner set the bar high in January, controversially wearing a faux lion head as a brooch at Schiaparelli’s spring 2023 couture show. In February, Mschf made people walk like cartoon characters with their big red boots – later in the year, the brand sold a handbag less than a grain of salt for more than $63,000. AI tricked everyone into thinking Pope Francis was wearing Balenciaga in March, and Margot Robbie spent months dressing up as Barbie for the red carpet publicity frenzy of the eponymous film.
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To celebrate this year’s creativity, WWD takes a look back at some of the campiest fashion moments of 2023 that will live forever in the world of social media.
Viktor and Rolf’s gravity-defying dresses
Viktor & Rolf’s spring 2023 show during Paris Fashion Week in January provided jaw-dropping moments with its upside-down and floaty ball gowns. The starting point of the collection was “seeing the world through our phones and the subsequent disconnect between images and the reality behind them,” WWD reported.
Kylie Jenner’s wildest dress
Daniel Roseberry presented his spring 2023 haute couture collection for Schiaparelli in January. In the collection, inspired by “The Divine Comedy” by Dante Alighieri, there were dresses “decorated” with wild animals such as a leopard, a lion and a she-wolf — a reference to Alighieri’s work that uses the creatures to represent lust, pride. and avarice.
Sitting in the front row was Jenner, wearing one of the dresses shown on the runway. “The Kardashians” star’s look consisted of a black dress with a faux-taxidermy lion head on her shoulder. Although there was significant controversy, PETA defended the look, calling it “very innovative.”
Doja Cat covered in red crystals
Jenner wasn’t the only one making headlines for Schiaparelli’s Spring 2023 runway. Doja Cat covered her body with red paint and 30,000 crystals. Pat McGrath revealed that it took her almost five hours to complete. “The final product was a magical, joyful masterpiece and a tribute to Doja Cat’s hard work and dedication,” McGrath wrote on Instagram.
Rihanna’s Super Bowl look
Rihanna made breast plates trendy again, thanks to her 2023 Super Bowl Halftime Show look. The singer performed at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., in February, wearing a bespoke boiler suit with a red suit and breast plate by British designer Jonathan Anderson and a coat and gloves by Alaïa.
The Fenty Beauty founder quickly replayed an average makeup performance, revealed her second pregnancy and pushed interest in the search for Saloman sneakers online.
Astro Boy Boots Mschf
Mschf had quite a year when it came to viral moments. In February, the Brooklyn-based brand released its big red boots inspired by the Japanese video game and the signature footwear of the anime character Astro Boy. The boots, made of TPU rubber and an EVA mid-outsole, were sold for $350. The shoes have been worn by Ciara, Iggy Azalea, Coi Leray, Lil Wayne, Steve Aoki and other celebrities.
AI x Pope Francis
Artificial intelligence made it possible for a photo-realistic image of Pope Francis wearing a white puffer coat from Balenciaga to go viral on social media in March. The image raised a red flag after most people couldn’t tell it was fake.
“These fake images that are coming out, there are concerns about the long-term impacts that could be there. There is excitement about the rapid advances in technology, but at the same time, concern about the impacts and that those could be harmful,” Mhairi Aitken, ethics fellow at the Alan Turing Institute, told WWD.
Jared Leto’s Choupette Dress
Karl Lagerfeld’s life and career were honored at the Met Gala in May. The late designer, who worked for Chanel, Chloé and Fendi, was also known for his devotion to his cat Choupette – the feline was the inspiration behind Lagerfeld’s spring 2012 coriander blue collection.
Paying homage to Lagerfeld, Jared Leto attended the Met Gala in a 6-foot-tall Choupette dress. The famous suit was the most searched male red carpet look on Google from the event.
The Barbie era Margot Robbie
Margot Robbie kicked off the press tour for “Barbie” in April at CinemaCon in Las Vegas. Since then, the actress has taken almost every red carpet opportunity to dress up as a Mattel doll.
Robbie launched the 2015 “Pink & Fabulous” Barbie in Valentino at a photo call in Los Angeles, showed off the original 1959 doll in a black-and-white striped bandage dress by Hervé Léger in Sydney and rocked the “Day to Night” Barbie since the 1985s. custom Versace suit in Seoul.
For the Los Angeles premiere in July, Robbie paid tribute to the 1960s “Solo in the Spotlight” Barbie in a custom Schiaparelli dress. Meanwhile, at the 2023 Gotham Awards in November, the actress wore a ’60s-themed Prada look inspired by the 1964 “Black Magic Ensemble” Barbie.
Flip-flops Jennifer Lawrence
Jennifer Lawrence paired a red Dior ball gown with black flip-flops to attend the premiere of “Anatomy of a Fall” at the Cannes Film Festival in May. At the time, social media hailed Lawrence’s choice of footwear as a political statement – in 2015, women were reportedly refused entry to the festival for wearing flats. However, Lawrence clarified in June that she was unaware of the red carpet flats controversy. Her shoes were too big, so she opted for a more comfortable option.
LV minuscule handbag Mschf
Going further with the mini bag trend, Mschf created a minuscule handbag measuring just 657 by 222 by 700 microns, smaller than a grain of sea salt. The piece, made from 3D-printed micro-scale plastic parts and emblazoned with Louis Vuitton’s “LV” monogram, sold for more than $63,000 at an online auction in June.
Crocs x boots Mschf
Mschf continued its streak of viral product releases in August with the help of Crocs. The footwear brands created the Big Yellow Boots, inspired by the Astro Boy Boots released in February.
Crocs tapped Paris Hilton to promote the shoes, releasing pictures of the socialite in a “Kill Bill” inspired outfit. Maluma and Victoria Beckham also tried out the boots on social media.
Christian Cowan big fur dress
In October, during Christian Cowan’s spring 2024 ready-to-wear show in Paris, model Mi’jon Woods was lost on the runway wearing a giant fur ball gown. Sam Smith, who produced the show, tried to help the model, but she ended up crashing into the front row.
Speaking backstage before the show, Cowan said he was “obsessed” with the look, WWD reported. “He didn’t come through any of the doors. We even got to our temporary office space, and two of the looks couldn’t fit in the building, so they had to be parked at the venue, like, seven days ahead of time because, luckily, this space has big doors,” he said. said.
Louis Vuitton Illusion Boots
In November, Louis Vuitton caught the attention of TikTok with its Illusion boots that mimic the look of feet wearing high-heeled shoes and socks. The style was unveiled during the brand’s fall 2023 show and is available now for $2,470 at louisvuitton.com.
Balenciaga grocery bag
During its fall 2024 runway show in LA in December, Balenciaga unveiled a new collaboration with Erewhon, filled with viral-worthy pieces. In the front row, Kim Kardashian carried one of them – an Erewhon shopping bag with the Balenciaga brand on it. The piece will sell for $2,500.
“This is my purse for today, this is what Demna wanted me to carry, a little Erewhon Balenciaga bag with flowers, so I’ll give him the flowers when he’s done,” Kardashian told WWD and he is leaving the show.
The Balenciaga x Erewhon collection also features purses shaped like coffee cups and water bottles.
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