Welcome to our Spotify Wrapped of fashion, where we look back over the most defining moments from the past 12 months. From Brat to Cowboy Carter, Challengers to Wicked and Galliano to Dries Van Noten, there’s been some serious stylish happenings across music, cinema and the runway. Let’s dive in.
MAISON MARGIELA SPRING 2024 ARTISANAL SHOW
On a dark January night in Paris, Galliano sent shockwaves through the industry with his Maison Margiela spring 2024 couture show. Models with porcelain faces, corseted waists, delicate lace skirts and giant tousled wigs staggered below the Pont d’Alexandre III bridge, into a run-down bar inspired by Brassai’s 1920s and ’30s portraits.
Taking over a year to put together, both the show and the collection were a rallying cry for creativity, and harked back to Galliano’s 90s heyday and the productions he would stage for Dior and his own label. Pat McGrath’s ‘glass skin’ make-up went on to break the internet, with fans across the world attempting to recreate the doll-like texture at home. What a way to start the year.
THE RETURN OF BOHO AND THE CHLOÉ WEDGE
In February, at Paris Fashion Week, Chemena Kamali made her debut as creative director of French label Chloé. The German designer was deemed a perfect fit, having worked for the brand under both Clare Waight Keller and Phoebe Philo.
Her first collection drew on the brand’s heritage, specifically being inspired by Karl Lagerfeld’s tenure at the house in the 1970s. However, it was hard not to notice that the front row — which included Sienna Miller, Georgia May Jagger, Jerry Hall and Pat Cleveland — were all wearing the same pair of leather strap cork-heel wedges. It served as the ultimate signifier that boho was back.
COWBOY-CORE
Beyoncé made an appearance at the Grammys in February, dressed head-to-toe in Pharrell William’s Louis Vuitton autumn/winter 2024 collection (which was inspired by Western Americana) — a white wide-brimmed hat, bolo tie and studded leather two-piece. A couple of weeks later, she wore the same hat with a silver, bejewelled ensemble in a surprise attendance to the Luar show in Brooklyn.
The stage had been set for her to drop her country-inspired album ‘Cowboy Carter’ in March, with the cover artwork showing (yes, you guessed it) Mrs Knowles-Carter sat atop a horse in a white cowboy hat. A track on the record entitled ‘Levii’s Jeans’ featuring Post Malone meant that the heritage denim label’s share price shot up by 20% in the week after its release.
ZENDAYA = THE QUEEN OF METHOD DRESSING
There’s no doubt that the 2024 fashion stakes were consistently raised by Zendaya and her stylist Law Roach. In February the pair pulled off the impossible, when she wore a Mugler AW95 silver robot suit to the London premiere of ‘Dune 2’. This served as a crescendo to her press tour wardrobe, composed of Louis Vuitton, Bottega Veneta and Rick Owens, all of which paid homage to the sci-fi fantasy of the movie she was promoting.
The end of April marked the release of another movie, ‘Challengers’, directed by Luca Guadagnino and with costumes by Jonathan Anderson (more on that later). Zendaya and Law Roach tackled this new theme head on — from a tennis-racket-adorned Thom Browne gown to a bedazzled pleated skirt dress complete with tennis ball heels from Loewe (all custom, of course). Serve after serve.
THE FIRST MONDAY IN MAY
The Met Gala had two dress codes this year — the theme of the museum’s Costume Institute exhibition ‘Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion’ and also ‘The Garden of Time’ taken from a JG Ballard story. Confusing, yes, but were looks delivered? Also yes. Zendaya made headlines by turning not one, but two, archival looks from John Galliano’s Dior (one was a Margiela remake of a previous design) proving that she really was 2024’s fashion star.
Elsewhere, Lana Del Rey wore a dress inspired by Alexander McQueen’s 2006 collection ‘Widows Of Culloden’ designed by the house’s new creative director Sean McGirr, Tyla had to be carried up the steps and the bottom of her Balmain sand-dress eventually cut off by creative director Olivier Roustang, and Demi Moore stunned in a spikey, rose-adorned creation from London-based designer Harris Reed.
BRAT SUMMER BEGINS
On the 7th June, the world changed forever, when underground hit-maker Charli XCX dropped her eighth studio album ‘Brat’. OK, we’re being dramatic, but it feels hard to remember a time before the abrasive neon green shade was seen on everything and everyone (including Kamala Harris’ electoral campaign).
From Boiler Room sets in New York and Ibiza, to an arena tour with fellow-artist Troye Sivan, the summer belonged to her and her messy-girl aesthetic, carefully curated by stylist Chris Horan. If you weren’t wearing the album artwork colour, you were wearing dark wraparound shades, baby tees, asymmetrical skirts and knee-high boots thanks to him. With a subsequent remix album, a recent hosting stint on SNL and a UK mega-tour, Brat summer has transitioned into Brat winter.
DRIES VAN NOTEN TAKES HIS FINAL BOW
The Belgian designer Dries Van Noten held his first ever Paris runway show back in 1991. He held his last, with himself at the helm, at the end of June 2024 at men’s Paris Fashion Week. He announced he would be stepping down from the label he founded 38 years ago in March, writing on Instagram: “I have been preparing for this moment for a while, and I feel it’s time to leave room for a new generation of talents to bring their vision to the brand.” The womenswear show in September was designed by his in-house studio team, and a successor for the DVN label was named on 9 December. Julian Klausner, the former head of womenswear, will make his runway debut as the label’s creative director in March.
THE OLYMPICS GO PARISIAN
The world said ‘Bonjour’ to possibly the most fashionable Olympics ever in July. With LVMH as the event’s partner, they designed the official medal bearers uniforms and the Louis Vuitton medal trays — chic.
The opening ceremony saw performances from Lady Gaga, who did a flamboyant cabaret complete with pink ostrich feathers by the river Seine, and Celine Dion, who sang dramatically from the Eiffel Tower. As the games continued, there were countless fashion moments, our favourite being the Korean shooter Kim Yeji. With her one-eyed glasses, Fila tracksuit and elephant plushie belt charm, she gave major bad-ass style inspo.
ARIANA AND CYNTHIA TURN WICKED
It feels like we’ve seen Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in contrasting pink and green looks this entire year. Channelling the characters they play in the much-anticipated musical-turned-movie ‘Wicked’, Grande has worn a plethora of frothy, pink gowns (although she switched it up for a pastel yellow Ralph Lauren number at the London premiere in November) whereas Erivo has opted for shocking green ensembles from the likes of Louis Vuitton, Erdem and Marc Jacobs.
They’ve kept fans entertained with their passionate press tour interviews — the image of Grande clutching Erivo’s long, lacquered green nail will live rent-free in our minds until 2025.
RIHANNA AND A$AP ROCKY SHUT DOWN THE BRITISH FASHION AWARDS
They did it again! The king and queen of pop culture touched down in London on a December Monday night to accept A$AP Rocky’s Cultural Innovator award. Rihanna wore a giant, furry hat and pastel-blue coat combination, from Christian Lacroix fall/winter 2002 couture, sourced by her stylist Jahleel Weaver. Rocky wore a sharp navy suit with a red leather tie from Bottega Veneta, accessorised with diamond earrings from the event sponsor Pandora.
JONATHAN ANDERSON TURNS COSTUME DESIGNER, TWICE
We know we’ve already mentioned Challengers, but Jonathan Anderson has teamed up with director Luca Guadagnino once again, to design costumes for the film ‘Queer’ which hit cinemas on December 13th.
Starring Daniel Craig, who fronted a Loewe campaign in September, the film follows a love story set in 1950s Mexico City. Will there be a breakout item, such as the ‘Challengers’ ‘I Told Ya’ t-shirt? Honestly, we wonder how Jonathan Anderson finds the time.
