It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Ah, 2021! How we’ll miss you — or not. Sure, there have been ups and downs — many, many downs — but it wasn’t all doom and gloom. This, after all, was the year that fashion got its mojo back. Ever a mirror to the turbulent times we’re living in, designers and creatives offered up myriad forms (and formats) of creativity and much-needed entertainment to distract us from an ever-worsening news cycle. When the world briefly re-opened, with it came a sense of renewal: IRL fashion shows, sexy going-out clothes, real-life red carpet events, and trends to intrepidly try out in environments other than our bedroom. Now more than ever, fashion is in a state of flux, evolving beyond your typical fashion weeks to the exotic horizons of the Metaverse and beyond. And we, for one, couldn’t be more excited — who doesn’t love a bit of drama?
Getting a bit of FOMO while you settle into your sofa slump and Netflix binge? Fear not. It’s time to put your doubtlessly ascending screen time to good use and reflect on the year that was. We’ve made it this far. The only way is up to sky-high heights of fashion.
Virgil kicked off the year with a crash course in unconscious bias
#NewBottega left Instagram
We paid tribute to the legendary Judy Blame
Miuccia and Raf made their menswear debut
Kim Jones made his debut at Fendi
… and we celebrate by compiling the ultimate oral history of him
André Leon Talley spilled the tea with us
Juicy Couture made a Y2K-fuelled comeback
… and so did ‘tramp stamp’ tattoos
Meanwhile, fashion fell in love with the six-pack
Ella Emhof made her runway debut
Naomi Campbell championed a new generation of Black creatives
We sat down with Raf Simons, Olivier Rizzo and Willy Vanderperre
… as well as chatting with Kate Moss about Cadbury’s and country houses
Loewe continued to reinvent the lockdown fashion show
Balenciaga staged the couture show of the century
Elsewhere, fashion developed an obsession with re-editioning its past
Everyone started revenge shopping — and ‘revenge dressing’
Catholicism became an antidote to the sartorial conservatism
Mugler went viral
Miu Miu went off-piste
Mushrooms became fashion’s biggest muse
Gucci and Balenciaga broke every rule of luxury
The catsuit prowled onto every catwalk
Sex and highly politicised sexuality re-entered the frame
The world said goodbye to Alber Elbaz, fashion’s kindest designer
Retro-optimism became the look of fashion’s future
Crocs became the shoe of the year
Gen Z killed the fashion archetype
Fashion prizes started to offer more than just cash
Designers acquired a taste for patrician pursuits
High Fashion Twitter blew up
American fashion history had a reckoning
… as did the ‘modest fashion’ movement
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen gave us a rare interview
Marc Jacobs made his catwalk comeback
Phoebe Philo announced that would be making hers too
… and Gen Z fashion critics weighed in with their thoughts
Pieter Mulier made his debut at Alaïa
… and we got the full scoop
LVMH bought Off-White
ERL won over Comme des Garçons and the Kardashians
Sarah Burton made education a McQueen signature
Cut-outs came back in
Frank Ocean got into fashion
Menswear was the queerest its ever been
Nensi Dojaka won the LVMH Prize
The political slogan returned to fashion
Simone Rocha celebrated her 10th anniversary
Kering banned fur
Hood by Air makes a triumphant comeback in London
Balenciaga re-wrote the rules of fashion shows
Loewe blew our minds
Kirsten McMenamy told us about her newfound Insta-fame
Miuccia Prada said ‘Free Britney’
Fashion became obsessed with boobs
Bottega Veneta headed to Detroit
… and Gucci headed to Hollywood
Daniel Roseberry broke down his most viral Schiaparelli looks for us
Tom Ford told us about the third act of his illustrious career
The world said goodbye to Virgil Abloh
Dior came to London
Marc Jacobs and his dog got dressed up in diamonds
The cable-knit sweater popped off in time for holiday season
… and we put together your ultimate wish list for Santa
Ta-dah! Happy New Year!