London Fashion Week is over. Milan Fashion Week is over. Paris Fashion Week is over. The Spring/Summer 2023 menswear season is over.
The rodeo was relatively tame this time around (COVID is still a thing, don't forget), but celebrities and brands alike still managed to make a splash with unexpected appearances and headline-making ensembles. After all, this is the fashion industry we're talking about — and no one puts on a show quite like fashion people.
Here, we're taking stock of the most buzzed-about moments from the SS23 shows, from buttcracks at Thom Browne to "poopgate" at Casablanca.
Sk8er bois at JW Anderson
Without fail, Jonathan Anderson's playful eye dreams up collections that are as as fun as they are fashionable. The designer's latest creations include sweaters embedded with life-size skateboards, long-sleeve shirts with bike handlebar shoulders, and a Spongebob-adjacent mini-dress. If it sounds too wacky to believe, just peep the photos.
Kendrick Lamar at Louis Vuitton
Kendrick Lamar performed from the front row at Louis Vuitton, providing the collection with a semi-live soundtrack. Dressed in a custom LV suit and diamond-encrusted "crown of thorns" by Tiffany & Co., the rapper cut a stylish, statement-making figure as he performed several tracks from Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, later closing out the show with a tribute to Virgil Abloh: "long live Virgil," he chanted during the runway finale.
Living garments at Loewe
Florals for spring? Groundbreaking.
Except at Loewe, it actually was groundbreaking. Creative director Jonathan Anderson collaborated with Paula Ulargui Escalona, a textile designer pioneering the art of living garments, to create coats, pants, and shoes sprouting chia and catnip plants.
Horsing around at Casablanca
"You mess with the horse... you get the poop," Highsnobiety's Jake Silbert said of the live steeds present at Casablanca's runway show, an affair that started out sans excrement. But as the show progressed, nature called and the show's equine backdrops did what they had to do. Stinky? Yes. But it lent a certain eau de authenticity to Casablanca's experimentation with cowboy couture.
K-pop at CELINE
BLACKPINK's Lisa and BTS' V caused chaos at Paris' Palais de Tokyo, where hordes of fans gathered to catch a glimpse of the K-pop stars as they attended CELINE's SS23 show. The fervor was so intense that attendees were escorted through the runway's backstage area to exit.
Ass-less chaps at Thom Browne
In a move immortalized on Instagrams aplenty, Thom Browne showed the cheekiest menswear collection in recent memory. In a closing act for the books, a bespectacled model trotted down the runway in a pair of ass-less chaps, cropped vest, cowboy hat, and Thom Browne-branded thong — making a serious case for the yeehaw agenda and for menswear's risqué renaissance.
