The 10 most epic moments of the last fashion weeks

With the tribute show to Alber Elbaz in Paris, the cycle of fashion weeks of the SS22 season has finally ended. It was an important season, the one in which street styles returned, the one in which the shows stopped being digital, the one in which the upcycling and archive trend emerged with more arrogance and, in short, the one in which the specter of the lockdown could be put behind us. It was therefore a hedonistic, sensual, vital season, in which anniversaries, returns and anniversaries were celebrated and in which it was possible to glimpse where fashion will head in the coming months. 

To put some order now that the shows have finally ended, nss magazine has compiled a list of the 10 most epic moments of the last fashion weeks in New York, London, Milan and Paris.

1. Balenciaga collaborates with “The Simpsons”

The mini-episode of The Simpsons in collaboration with Balenciaga was the thing that the whole fashion industry didn't know it needed. The show of demna Gvasalia's brand had it all: the celebrities, the mental trip behind the concept, the Crocs and above all the Simpson family parading on the catwalk. A moment that will be difficult to overcome in the future.

2. Abstract-shaped, surreal shoes

Whenever a shoe, heel or sneaker appeared on the catwalk this season there were two possible options: either it was a classic shoe or a completely bizarre shoe. The winner was Jonathan Anderson with his Dadaist heels from Loewe; but Lanvin also made Batman-shaped sneakers, while Olivier Rousteing from Balmain created heels that mimicked the rings of the chains. Prada, Comme des Garçons and Balenciaga instead opted for a look with a medieval flavor with hyper-accentuated toe shoes decorated now with maximalist buckles, now with hyperfuturistic heels.

9. An activist crashes Louis Vuitton's show

The Louis Vuitton show was one of the most discussed of the season but not for its looks. Halfway through the show, two activists burst onto the catwalk waving banners with environmentalist and anti-consumerist slogans. One of them, a man, was immediately plated by security while another woman walked almost the entire walkway before being stopped.

4. Show without borders

This was also the year of the "widespread" shows or all those outings that were not limited to the "here and now" of the catwalk to extend beyond the boundaries prescribed by tradition. Prada has evaded the limits of geography with a double show with live-streaming crossed between Milan and Shanghai; Moncler organized not one but multiple shows in a single day then culminated with the MONDOGENIUS event at the Castello Sforzesco; Valentino, on the other hand, transported the entire parade on the street, arousing the enthusiasm of the public. 

5 Fendace

The swap of designers between Fendi and Versace for a double show generated in about twenty minutes an average impact value of 129 million dollars. A figure that gives the measure of media attention catalyzed by the union between the two brands. The results of this union have been nothing short of divisive: there are those who loved it madly, there are those who did not call it a commercial gimmick - in any case, the logos where a lot. Regardless of the outcome, however, moments like these cannot be easily replicated and will remain a point of reference with which the rest of the fashion industry will necessarily have to confront in the future.

6. Olivier Rousteing's 10th anniversary at Balmain

The mega-show for Rousteing's tenth anniversary at the helm of Balmain had the same energy, the same breadth of breath and the same ambition as one of the great shows that Lagerfeld organized for Chanel. With Beyoncè's voice-over, music, crowds, supermodels on the catwalk, Rousteing's anniversary was a happy and energetic crowning to one of the longest creative director tenures in the world of contemporary fashion.

7. The official debut of Nensi Dojaka

Of all this year's debuts, Nensi Dojaka's was perhaps the most anticipated. Taking place a few days after the designer's award ceremony with the LVMH Prize 2021, her debut on the London catwalk was among the strongest in recent years and marked the arrival on the scene of a talent with whom fashion greats will have to learn to confront themselves in the future.

8. Marni's show-performance

Anniversaries and anniversaries aside, this season has been dominated by many media events studied at the table. The only spontaneous, sincere and frankly memorable exception was Marni's show in Milan in which the 800 present, including guests and performers, were dressed in striped uniforms (the stripes were, together with the flowers, the two symbols of the season) and created a show in which look and audience seemed to be one – with the wonderful background of Dev Haynes' music,  of the singing of Zsela and the words of the poet Mykki Blanco and also an appearance of Ghali among the models. Definitely the most "total" show of the entire season.

9. The comeback of Ann Demeulemeester

For fans of avant-garde fashion, there was something romantic about seeing Ann Demeulemeester welcome guests to her brand's show alongside Claudio Antonioli. Demeulemeester is one of the most fascinating personalities in the history of fashion and his absence from the scenes was very much felt. And although designer Ann isn't really the creative director of the brand, plus a benevolent presence that orbits around it, seeing her physically present at the show was an authentic blast from the past as well as a beautiful sentimental moment.

10. Michèle Lamy opening Rick Owens' show

Michèle Lamy is perhaps one of the most universally loved and admired women in the fashion industry – and indeed it seemed strange that Rick Owens had never made her part of the cast of his fashion shows, even considering how Lamy is one of the best and most faithful interpreters of Owens' style, after all they are married. Already Rick's return to the Palais de Tokyo was an event that many were waiting for, but seeing Michèle Lamy go down the stairs and open the show was a gesture of love that we did not know we needed.