No one could accuse this season’s front rows of being dull. Thanks to the casts of Euphoria and Bridgerton, an influx of ’90s icons, and Rihanna’s boundary-breaking maternity looks, each day of fashion month has yielded another revelation. Fall 2022 has kept things interesting. Though every brand now has a personal roster of celebrities to populate the audience, there’s still room—and need—for surprises.
Whether it was Maude Apatow adding a touch of sweetness to Saint Laurent’s look in a floral catsuit, Kim Kardashian adding new verve to Prada’s all-leather menswear, or Marisa Tomei embracing sustainable luxury at Gabriela Hearst’s climate solution-focused Chloé show, the moments of excitement occurred when the clothes on display meshed with the wearer’s personality.
Many of the month’s big moments came from Hollywood’s coterie of fashion extroverts. Kim Kardashian goes viral almost daily, but getting wrapped in Balenciaga police tape by Demna and his team ensured all eyes were on the reality star. Julia Fox’s slinky turn at Versace was equally compelling, where the Uncut Gems star offered her best dominatrix look in shiny black latex.
Rihanna’s daring maternity style defied conventions. Instead of covering her bump and dressing in layers, the pop star turned beauty mogul has made her pregnancy outfits fierce, feminist statements. At Dior, she pushed the envelope arriving in a completely transparent Maria Grazia Chiuri-designed slip dress that quickly became the month’s most talked about look. Still, even the star’s boldest moments felt organic. Imagine the disappointment if music’s bad gal didn’t come to Paris with a suitcase filled with outré fashion?
As the season stretched into overtime with destination shows like Jacquemus’ Hawaiian excursion and Alexander McQueen’s Brooklyn Navy Yard takeover, new names came to the fore. Simon Porte Jacquemus’s beachside show called for sanguine style, and that vibe was captured by Blackpink’s Jennie. Her crop top and striped skirt, both in a rosy shade the designer dubbed gelato, were appropriately sweet.