The 10 moments that defined fashion in 2022, according to Time magazine

If fashion is an expression of the times in which we live, this year's biggest moments reflected the history of a tumultuous world. The war in the Ukraine, the rise of anti-Semitism and child exploitation seeped into the news, editorials and the fashion business in 2022.

Of course, there were also moments of empowerment and lightness: Rihanna redefined maternity fashion with bold and festive looks; Julia Fox became a fashion-forward star; and '90s supermodel Linda Evangelista made a triumphant return to the runways.

The 10 biggest fashion moments this year, according to Time magazine

When Rihanna, cultural force and future Super Bowl performer, announced her pregnancy earlier this year, she broke the news with a photo of her walking around New York with her partner, A$AP Rocky, wearing a vintage Chanel coat by intense pink color and her belly exposed.

That moment set the tone for a quarter full of spectacular looks, with the singer opting for revealing, couture ensembles that centered around her growing belly. From a see-through black dress she wore over lingerie at the Dior show during Paris fashion Week in March to an endless array of crop tops, bandeaus and low-rise pants that not only exposed but celebrated her baby bump, Rihanna rewrote the rules of maternity wear, one look at a time.

As a long-running New York artist and breakout star of Uncut Gems, Julia Fox had no shortage of recognition prior to this year, but after embarking on a brief but highly publicized relationship with Kanye West in early 2022, she rose to a level of viral fame. .

When Fox appeared arm in arm with “Ye” at Paris fashion Week in February sporting dramatic black eyeliner and denim and leather looks to match the rapper, she went from local celebrity to fashion muse. international and avant-garde.

The romance was short-lived, but Fox has since become an agent of fashion mayhem with outfits that are daring, unconventional and often gravity-defying (she recently worked with a friend to put together an outfit out of little more than dead leaves, resin and chains).

While her sartorial leanings can be off-putting at times, she's also proven to be likeable and fun online, becoming the TikTok voice of the moment with DIY videos, confessions, and endearing comments.

If there's been one look that's dominated both the red carpets and the editorials this year, it's been the Miu Miu miniskirt, a deconstructed - and very skimpy - version of the schoolgirl pleated staple. The skirt was ubiquitous in 2022, appearing in couture reportage like Nicole Kidman's Vanity Fair cover and on the streets during fashion month. And as with most great fashion moments, the skirt was more than just a skirt.

The low-rise micro-mini style seemed to herald a broader return to the aesthetic of the early 1980s, a time when “heroin chic” or “ultra-skinny” were considered viable trends. This message was underscored when Miu Miu aired a short film at the end of the spring/summer show on October 22, 2021, debuting the skirt, which mocked the Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL).

In March, just weeks after the war in Ukraine began, supermodel Gigi Hadid took to Instagram to share that, following the example of fellow Argentinian Mica Arganaraz, she would donate her earnings from walking the runway during fashion month to support to “those who suffer” in the Ukraine and to those affected by the war in Palestine.

While other models including Vittoria Cerretti, Kaia Gerber and Gigi's sister Bella Hadid also followed Arganaraz's lead, it was Gigi Hadid's social media post that grabbed the most headlines: Vogue covered her ad in a blog post. Instagram, but later removed mention of his feelings on Palestine from the caption - and then added it back, facing criticism at every turn. When the magazine re-included Hadid's language about Palestine in the post, it included an editor's note: "We've updated this caption to accurately reflect Gigi Hadid's statement about her donation."

For this year's Met Gala, which was themed "American Fashion," Kim Kardashian paid tribute to an American icon, Marilyn Monroe, wearing the bejeweled nude dress the actress wore to sing Happy Birthday to President John F. Kennedy in 1962.

The dress, a form-fitting piece inspired by a Bob Mackie sketch for costume designer Jean Louis, was custom-made for Monroe and loaned to Kardashian by Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum in Orlando, which won the gown at a auction in 2016 with a bid of $4.8 million, making it the most expensive dress ever sold at auction.

Kardashian's decision to wear the dress was controversial. Some criticized her for daring to wear a piece of such historical significance and risk damaging the dress, while others took issue with the reality star's proud confession that she had gone on a diet and lost 20 pounds in three weeks to put it on, arguing that her behavior promoted unhealthy ideals of beauty.

Supermodel Linda Evangelista made her triumphant return to the runway for the Fendi show in New York in September 2022, her first fashion show appearance in 15 years. One of the original “Supers” whose runway and editorial presence defined the supermodel's golden age in the 1990s, Evangelista had made headlines in recent years after revealing that a cosmetic procedure had left her, to her own devices. words, “brutally disfigured.”

Evangelista's runway appearance was greeted with standing ovations by the likes of Kim Kardashian and Kate Moss. It hasn't been her only foray into her fashion this year; she has also appeared on the cover of the September issue of British Vogue.

Bella Hadid was the star of Paris fashion Week this fall when, in a stunning finale to the Coperni show, she sprayed a dress over her body, a moment many interpreted as an homage to the 1999 spring show by Alexander McQueen in which supermodel Shalom Harlow's white dress was spray-painted by robots.

Coperni's stunt began with Hadid, clad only in her underwear, immobile as designers hand-sprayed her body with Fabrican, a proprietary spray-applied fabric. After applying several layers, the material formed a dress that the designers slimmed down by cutting a slit and shaping the off-the-shoulder bodice. According to Coperni, the Fabrican dress is washable and reusable (if you have Hadid's exact measurements), but it can also be returned to her original solution bottle to regenerate.

The rapper, who legally changed his name to Ye last year, is no stranger to controversy, but this year the polarizing musician and designer crossed lines that had dire consequences. At Paris fashion Week this fall, he staged a surprise show for his Yeezy S9 collection in which he showed off T-shirts bearing a white supremacist phrase that the Anti-Defamation League and Southern Poverty Law Center have categorized as hate speech.

Although the collection was criticized, it was Ye's attack on Vogue editor and stylist Gabriella Karefa-Johnson on social media after she shared a criticism of her decision to make the T-shirts that sparked a furore. Days later, on social media and in interviews, Ye made a series of anti-Semitic comments that led to the end not only of her relationship with Vogue, but also of collaborations and partnerships with companies including Balenciaga, Gap and Adidas.

In one of the most shocking announcements of the year in the sector, Gucci announced that its creative director, Alessandro Michele, would leave to direct the brand after almost 20 years in the company and seven years in charge of it. Michele's whimsical, logo-laden style redefined and renewed the luxury house's legacy, making it the go-to for stars like Harry Styles, Lana del Rey and Jared Leto.

He was responsible for the hugely profitable renaissance of the brand for parent company Kering, whose revenue nearly quadrupled between 2015 and 2019, Michele's first few years as creative director; Gucci's global revenues have surpassed those of other Kering Group brands - including Balenciaga, Saint Laurent and Alexander McQueen - during all the years of Michele's leadership. This year, Burberry's Riccardo Tisci has stepped down from his position and Raf Simons has closed his namesake label, pointing to a sense of volatility across the sector.

Balenciaga, a brand that has thrived on controversy under the provocative creative director Demna, has gone too far. The fashion house, which has paraded models dressed as refugees in luxurious leather trash bags and made couture nods to items like Ikea's $0.99 shopping bag and campaign merchandising Bernie Sanders, is involved in a scandal.

The controversy began in November, after Balenciaga debuted an ad campaign featuring children with teddy bear-shaped bags dressed in BDSM clothing and another featuring images of paperwork related to child pornography laws. Both campaigns sparked accountability calls and conspiracy theories suggesting that Balenciaga encouraged the exploitation of children.

Cedric Charbit, executive director of the brand, and Demna have made public statements in which they apologize for the images. “I want to personally apologize for the wrong artistic choice of the concept of the gift drive with the children and I take my responsibility,” Demna wrote on Instagram. "It was inappropriate to have children promote items that had nothing to do with them."

Keep reading:

In March, just weeks after the war in Ukraine began, supermodel Gigi Hadid took to Instagram to share that, following the example of fellow Argentinian Mica Arganaraz, she would donate her earnings from walking the runway during fashion month to support to “those who suffer” in the Ukraine and to those affected by the war in Palestine.