As another year in the chiffon trenches draws to a close, you’re probably feeling a little worse for wear. After all, it was quite the 365-day whirlwind. Aside from the relentless game of creative director musical chairs and the growing hip-hop-ification of fashion, Planet Mode has been pedal to the metal with art-world crossovers and blockbuster exhibitions, not to mention a breathless onslaught of micro-trends. From Gucci’s dizzying retrospective and Pharrell’s Louis Vuitton ‘damouflage’ to the rise of Kendall Roy’s bore-core, 2023 tapped into almost every avenue of popular and high culture alike.
Indeed, anyone that’s paid a visit to TikTok – or dialled up their modem – this last 12 months will know exactly why wearing cashmere is a power move, why Gabrielle Chanel remains the font of all things chic, and why, actually, you shouldn’t throw out your Abercrombie hoodie just yet. Yes, these might not sound like the most urgent questions of our time, but they have been a welcome balm to the doom and gloom elsewhere. Call us clichéd, but fashion is a mirror unto the times. Just as quickly as hemlines drop in a recession, the 0.001% find new ways to disguise their wealth, meanwhile rappers evolve from the rockstars of the 21st century into the anointed dictators of luxury.
But what did you expect? 2022 was wild enough, serving up fashion shows in the Egyptian desert, the Miu Miu skirt that had anyone with an inkling of taste in a chokehold, and Kate Moss’ runway return at Bottega Veneta. Luckily, the Fashion Week gods, exhibtion curators and trend inventors (see, as always, Prada) rose to the challenge, making this year one of both sombre endings and big beginnings. So, while you enjoy a little R&R before the circus resumes next season, we thought it only wise to take stock of everything that went down, from the slays to the stays in 2023.
Gains and Losses
There was a lot riding on this turn around the sun, not least Yorkshireman Daniel Lee’s inaugural outing at Burberry. Taking the reins at any luxury house is a scary prospect, but when it’s one as loaded with heritage, class and wartime associations as Burbs, that’s no mean feat. Besides reigniting the once-derided nova check and other forgotten insignia, Daniel’s broader creative vision has thoroughly embraced an intangible but widely lauded sense of Bri’ishness. Kudos.
The most talked about ticket in town? Louis Vuitton SS24 menswear, bien sûr. Not only did the starry artistic director cement fashion and celebrity’s love affair, but he also ushered in some seriously flashy designs, including his very own digital camouflaged Damier print and the Millionaire Speedy bag encrusted with diamonds and gold hardware. Elsewhere, we were treated to equally extravagant affairs at Tom Ford, now helmed by the founder’s former righthand man, Peter Hawkings, who worked closely with Tom during the 90s Gucci era. Peter’s offering was a little more understated, but the usual croc-leather separates and silky, bold-shouldered dinner jackets Tom loved still showed face. Oh, and let’s not forget Gucci itself, which has undergone a major pivot since Sabato De Sarno, an alum of Pierpaolo Piccioli’s Valentino, took the helm, presenting exquisite staples, rather than the camp costumery Alessandro Michele made huge.
It wasn’t all new faces, though. At Alexander McQueen, Sarah Burton gave her last bow at the maison she’s carried since Lee McQueen’s passing. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Heck, even Naomi shed a diva tear as she strode along the catwalk in a conical bra bodice. Next up? Seán McGirr, an impressively credentialled Irishman who served as JW Anderson’s ready-to-wear design director and held down gigs at Dries Van Noten and Uniqlo’s Christophe Lemaire line. Elsewhere, Ludovic de Saint Sernin set the record for fastest tenure yet, serving his first and last collection for Ann Demeulemeester before the baton was passed down to an in-house promotion, Stefano Galilci, who made their debut at SS24. Most surprising of all was the tragic loss of Davide Renne, the appointed successor to Jeremy Scott at Moschino. That, or the jump scare that was Matthew M. WIlliams exiting Givenchy. Did we mention Peter Do’s new gig at Helmut Lang? And breathe.
Fash-ibitions
If 2023 taught us anything, it’s that fashion and the art world’s relationship is strong, stable and – by the looks of it – financially lucrative. In fact, these days, it feels like there are as many art exhibitions as there are fashion exhibitions. This year, the circuit kicked off with Gabrielle Chanel: Fashion Manifesto, an excoriating survey of her work, spanning 20s couture, the tweed suits, the little black dress(es) and her charmingly gaudy costume bling. From there came the Met Museum’s ode to fashion’s late kaiser, Karl Lagerfeld and his enduring legacy at Balmain, Chloé, Chanel, Patou and Fendi. As ever, the other side to this moving memorial was the utter chaos that ensued at the gala. Yes, those anthropomorphic renditions of Karl’s cat, Choupette, continue to haunt us all.
Finally, it was over to 180 the Strand for Gucci Cosmos, the revolving showcase of Casa Gucci’s 102-year history, spanning Guccio Gucci’s humble beginnings as a bellboy at London’s Savoy, his sons Aldo and Rodolfo’s contributions to the house, and all the creative directors: Tom Ford, Frida Giannini, Alessandro Michele and Sabato De Sarno. Oh, and unless you’ve started your social media detox early, you’ll have seen news: Saint Laurent is the kind patron behind the latest exhibition from fashion’s quirkiest lensman, Juergen Teller, running now till the 9th January.
However, such behemoth displays are just the tip of the iceberg. Any socialite doing the rounds last Frieze week in London will have been privy to the abundance of fash-art hybrids. Take, for example, Stone Island’s sponsorship of the emerging galleries section, ‘Focus’, as well as its involvement in the annual knees-up, where everyone from Mark Leckey to TalkArt’s Robert Diament and Loyle Carner could be seen getting the badge in. In São Paulo, Bottega Veneta celebrated 10 years of presence in Brazil with an exhibition celebrating the life and legacy of Lina Bo Bardi, while Tate Britain’s Sarah Lucas exhibition, Happy Gas, was supported by Burberry and marked with a rather ritzy celebration during Frieze, complete with proper Br’ish grub. Even over at Miami Art Week this month, the fash-pack were given plenty to sink their teeth into thanks to collaborations from Fendi Casa and Bless design studio, Frank Gehry Louis Vuitton Capucines and satellite soirées like Marni and SSENSE’s big party. So much for Miami being trashy.
Rapper Designers
It’s hardly breaking news that fashion has a soft sport for hip-hop. However, this year, the romance has risen to unprecedented heights. Now, rappers aren’t just landing on collection moodboards or having their style referenced in proxy; rather, they’re deciding the look and feel of the very clothes waltzing past us on the runways. Pharrell is a case in point, having cut his teeth as a legendary producer, rapper and voice of early-2000s hip-hop before climbing the ranks to become an all-out popstar and fashion authority. In many ways, though, he’s always been a part of the fabric, having shaped the streetwear zeitgeist with Billionaire Boys Club, Bape collaborations and countless brands of his own since. Lest we forget the polymath LV sunglasses collab of 2004 or the jewellery offering of 2008. Really, it was just a matter of time. And what better way to celebrate smashing the ceiling than enlisting Jay-Z and Pusha T to perform post-show?
Meanwhile, the self-proclaimed ‘fashion killa’, A$AP Rocky, has been getting his dues on Planet Mode as the creative director of Puma’s F1 line, a sporty mix of tough-stuff streetwear and high-performance motorwear. At the same time, he’s also been fronting one of the most-talked about fashion moments this year, including Bottega Veneta’s paparazzi campaign, dripped out in leather-look sweatsuits and intrecciato goodies. In other news, we’ve also been blessed with Lanvin’s new initiative, the Lanvin Lab, which enlisted Future as its first guest designer. The result? Buttery leathers embellished with galatial beads, easy-breezy tailoring and – in true homage to the oldest couture house’s founder, Jeanne Lanvin – some choice Art Deco nods.
Last but by no means least on our list of notable mentions is Skepta’s anticipated revival of Mains, the luxe label that had been more or less dormant since 2019. What before had been a relatively light-touch endeavour has now morphed into something far richer – literally. Part of the rationale, Skepta explained, was the leisure culture of Miami – think tennis whites, opulent creams and F1 references – which he then merged with tropes from 90s hip-hop style figures, Tupac and Aaliyah. On the runway, brother JME and A$AP Nast walked before a roll call of rap royalty, from Stormzy to Headie One. Quite the full circle moment. Of course, this shift is a far cry from the days when rappers co-signed designer brands as a flex. Now, even when they do flaunt labels, it’s more likely to be a little more esoteric than your Vuittons and Guccis of the world. Take Baby Keem and Kendrick Lamar’s The Hillbillies track, which namedrops Wales Bonner and Martine Rose. How far we’ve come.
Looking Rich
At this point, if you haven’t at least toyed with old-money aesthetics, you’ll have been told to by conniving copywriters trying to flog polyblends as the height of luxury. Of course, the whole conversation around quiet luxury has started to sound like an old record and often misses the issue’s very crux: poshos, toffs and Euro money hoarders have always been good at playing down their pricey clobber. Just as they exploit tax avoidance schemes and keep schtum when asked anything too prying about their new investments, they also enjoy the passable subtlety of Loro Piana cashmere, Brioni suits and Zegna’s vicuña woollens sourced from Peru. For whatever reason, though, 2023 has been the year that terms like ‘stealth wealth’ have flooded TikTok, egging Gen-Zers to get the Succession look on a budget. Aside from the fact youth subcultures usually kick out against the ruling hegemony or mimic them in jest, it’s made for an interesting conundrum watching kids try to look ‘spensive.
As the year progressed, the conversation moved away from dressing like the Brunello Cucinelli-clad media moguls towards the looser mutations of quiet luxury we witnessed in the 2000s and early-2010s. For example, TikTok has officially revived the mall-prep look, essentially a diet-quiet luxury built from Abercrombie & Fitch, Jack Wills and other labels that have otherwise fallen out of favour, save for their ironic comeback on Depop. On the runway, this accessible waspiness has cropped up in the collegiate looks of Miu Miu SS24, where collars were layered and teamed with embroidered blazers and some very Hollister-esque board shorts for beach jock allure. Even back in its first iteration, this felt like the mass-ifaction of rich style, but now it’s been through so many confusing loops, any attempt from the 99.99% desire to look wealthy becomes redundant.
Take, for example, the rise of the boho-chic, or colonial boho as it’s less favourably known. It’s the kind of garb your rich wanderlust auntie rocks to a five-star hotel-cum-ashram, teaming Etro prairie dresses with Missoni’s Cambodian textiles, as well as the slightly mystic jewels and lightly haremmed suiting Ralph Lauren has been pushing on the SS24 catwalk. On the streets, it’s adopted with a Y2K irony à la Kate Moss at Glastonbury, but on the catwalk, it remains the reserve of the hyper-wealthy. Toffs out of office, if you will. After all, the types that can afford Giorgio Armani’s beaded cardigans, orb bangles and healing crystal rings are more likely to be lords and ladies realigning their chakras than your bog-standard crusty. Perhaps, the landed lady at large will be next up as the look young Gen-Zers are trying to nail come 2024. One thing is sure, though: your average stealth-wealther will still do it better than you ever could, because they’re wearing The Row, only the subtlest touch of Bottega Veneta and a Valextra belt bag, and you’re in some of your tacky dupes. Still can’t buck the trend? Gwyneth Paltrow’s courtroom looks are canon.