A supermodel moment is always guaranteed to send social media into meltdown during fashion month, but Kate Moss herself couldn’t compete with Marge Simpson in a Balenciaga ballgown this season. Moss’s Fendace cameo and Springfield’s PFW takeover were just two of the memorable highlights from the spring/summer 2022 presentations. Read on for your Vogue recap from the shows.
Photo : Daniele Venturelli
1. Everything about Fendace
Fashion’s fabulous switch-up – which saw Donatella Versace and Kim Jones swap roles to create two uniquely brilliant, logo-heavy collections inspired by their friendship – was a supermodel-filled extravaganza that even Elizabeth Hurley – the original Versace safety-pin queen – couldn’t miss. Watching Kate Moss dance with Shalom Harlow and Amber Valletta in the final line-up was, to borrow Amanda Harlech’s word, “hallucinatory”. History was made, while both houses flexed their cultural relevance and social currency.
Photo: Mondadori Portfolio
2. Dua Lipa opening and closing Versace
As rumors circulated about Donatella Versace’s Fendace power move, the glamazon queen pulled out all the stops for her own Versace spring/summer 2022 show. Campaign face Dua Lipa opened and closed the show wearing a safety-pin punctuated look and sparkly pink party co-ords that deserve a spot in her tour wardrobe.
Photo: Courtesy of Balenciaga
3. The Simpsons’ starring turns at Balenciaga
The biggest surprise of Paris Fashion Week was – d’oh! – Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie moonlighting as models in the Simpsons’ takeover of Balenciaga. It was a perfect, playful satire of the industry’s pomp and circumstance and totally joyous to watch. Of course, that was only part of Demna Gvasalia’s hilarious swipe at pop culture – the fake red carpet beforehand was equally thought-provoking. If Balenciaga can pull off such a coup again, we’ll eat our shorts.
Photo: Tolga Akmen
4. Maximilian’s unexpectedly spiky finale
Newcomer Maxmilian Davis’s seductive approach to womenswear has made him a breakout LFW star. His first physical runway show did not disappoint. Pictures of the final look, a spiky wearable art piece, flooded Instagram following the Fashion East showcase, where it was met with all of the superlatives and emojis. Get yourself some “pose-wear” (as he described it) immediately.
Photo: Courtesy of Balmain
5. Olivier Rousteing’s supermodel-filled Balmain birthday
For his 10-year anniversary at Balmain, Olivier Rousteing brought out the big guns and delivered a star-studded extravaganza for an audience of 6,000. Not only did Beyoncé provide an audio tribute recounting the designer’s achievements, the line-up of supermodels – Naomi Campbell, Carla Bruni, Milla Jovovich, Karen Elson, Lara Stone, Natasha Poly, and Natalia Vodianova – brought the house down.
Photo: Adam Duke
6. Rejina Pyo’s diving board spectacular
For her first physical show since the pandemic began, Rejina Pyo took us to the London Aquatics Centre, where divers from Team GB (sporting the designer’s color-pop swimwear) gave a spectacular acrobatic display off boards ranging from three meters to 10 meters high. The performance, and the collection as a whole, was an ode to freedom – and provided the much-needed lift we all need right now.
Photo: Marc Piasecki
7. Cardi B’s street style
Leave it to music’s most famous to dial up the drama for the street-style paparazzo. While everyone else doubled down on back-to-school tailoring, the rapper modeled extravagant, bijoux-laden Schiaparelli, sculptural new-season Balenciaga and major color-block Richard Quinn. We like it like that.
Photo: Jacopo Raule/Getty Images
8. Gigi Hadid’s quietly confident runway domination
In the same month she planned a first birthday party for daughter Khai, Gigi Hadid returned to modeling with a bang for spring/summer 2022, tallying up countless appearances in New York and Milan. From Moschino to Versace and Fendace, she showed model newcomers how it’s done while reuniting with her fashion family for a fabulous month-long love-in. Now, it’s time for a well-deserved break.
Photo: Courtesy of Marni
9. Marni redefines the show experience
With a knack for bringing together the creative community, designer Francesco Risso celebrated the physicality of being in a show space again by merging the runway and its audience into one joyful fashion happening. Four hundred guests were fitted in bespoke Marni looks, to instill a sense of unity before the event had even begun. “It’s not so much about the spectacle, it’s more about bringing everyone into the dialogue,” Risso told Vogue.
Photo: Courtesy of Prada
10. Double the fun: Prada’s dual runways in Milan and Shanghai
Co-creative directors Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons showed their spring/summer 2022 collection simultaneously in Milan and Shanghai. The impressive spectacle saw models in each country walk the runways wearing the same look at exactly the same time. It wasn’t just a success in terms of show production, it reflected a world that is ever more globally conscious.
Photo: Saviko/Getty Images
11. Chanel girls flicking their hair back and forth
Virginie Viard’s Chanel spring/summer 2022 show was a hair-swishingly sassy ode to the ’90s, replete with a paparazzi pit for models to perform for along the runway. On the final day of a pretty monumental season, nothing looked as good as those pearl and chain-laden girls giving good camera angles. Watch the hair flick videos to put an instant spring in your step.
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Originally published on Vogue.co.uk
