The wildest fashion moments of 2024

2024 has been a wild ride for the fashion industry. If it wasn’t enough trying to keep up with the musical chairs of major houses, there’s been an almost constant influx of viral moments keeping us shocked, entertained and, for fashion writers, extremely busy. The impact of TikTok and Instagram Reels has meant that brands are chasing virality, as are celebs, who have been stepping out in increasingly daring ensembles. Whether authentic, a gimmick or accidental, these are a few of this year’s wildest fashion moments.

John Galliano’s 2024 Artisanal collection was the show that made us all fall back in love with fashion, and, as we found out yesterday (December 11), would be John Galliano’s last for Margiela. This decade’s equivalent of a Galliano Dior couture spectacular, it reminded fatigued fashion heads that shows can be magical, emotional and theatrical. Back in January, those lucky enough sobbed from the front row underneath Paris’ Pont Alexandre III, meanwhile the rest of us ugly-cried over a live stream on our phones, breaking the internet while fixing our broken hearts. While Lucky Love serenaded guests, models sauntered slowly around the rooms draped in ghostly floating fabrics, Mr Pearl corsets, merkins and hips so exaggerated that they only narrowly missed nearby candles. And who could forget those doll-like faces, ingeniously painted by Pat McGrath, or Gwendoline Christie closing the show? It was a show that enchanted the world, and has set the bar for catwalks this side of 2020.

A parade of celebrities peacocking in their best archive pulls, the First Monday in May saw this year’s Met Gala go full Hunger Games. The event made for a surreal demonstration of glamour and wealth that also left a sour taste when put into perspective alongside current world crises. The theme, Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion, allowed those powerful enough to take a deep dive into the couture archives, quite literally reawakening garments that haven’t seen the light of day in decades. Take Kendall Jenner’s never-worn AW99 Givenchy by Alexander McQueen look for example, or Nicole Kidman’s recreation of a 1950s Flamenco Balenciaga gown. As usual, it was Zendaya and the magic touch of her stylist Law Roach who stole the show, appearing on the carpet not once, but twice – both times in Galliano creations.

2024’s lesbian renaissance continued to burn bright at London Fashion Week in September. First there was SS Daley’s Gluck-inspired catwalk, then there was Erdem’s ode to lesbian bible The Well of Loneliness, with Irish designer Sinéad O’Dwyer bringing in the grand finale. The designer’s SS25 presentation Everything Opens to Touch featured three couples, all passionately snogging whilst guests looked on. Unsurprisingly, internet trolls were displeased to see queer women getting it on at a fashion presentation, but we say power to them.

In September, Bella Hadid returned to the catwalk for the first time after a two-year hiatus. And not just at any show – at Anthony Vaccarello’s SS25 collection for Saint Laurent, which in turn, was one of the hottest displays of the season. A slew of 80s powersuits, dramatic lapels, buttery leathers and fake glasses paraded underneath the Eiffel Tower, making the case for a new generation of office sirens. Hadid had taken some time away from the fashion cycle to focus on her health, swapping the runway for the rodeo and cowboy boyfriend, Adan Banuelos. She also surprised us last week, making a guest appearance on Yellowstone (wearing her trusty cowboy hat, of course).

Fashion has seen some weird collaborations over the past few decades (remember when Dolce & Gabbana teamed up with Smeg? Or even DHL and Vetements?). One pairing we didn’t have on our 2024 bingo card was punky London brand Chopova Lowena linking up with Hellman’s mayonnaise. Debuting during September’s SS25 shows, the collaboration featured a full, cold jar of mayo attached to brand’s new Margaret bag, named after Margaret Hellman who nailed the recipe back in 1913. “Honestly, we just love mayo!” Chopova Lowena told Dazed ahead of its unveiling. According to the show notes, never again will we have to “leave home without something tasty.”

Everything got a bit, well, wetter in 2024. From Di Petsa to Mowalola, fashion’s obsession with bodily fluids grew more intense this year, and Jordanluca’s pee-stained jeans were no exception. The viral, sold-out trousers were featured on ITV’s Lorraine, TMZ and in The New York Post for their provocative look, rocking the world one double-take at a time. While Jordanluca claimed the jeans were an exploration of fetishistic capitalism, others saw them as no more than a gimmick. Whether the intent was to create a viral moment or not, it worked. Although, it does make it trickier to know if that person on the tube has had an accident.

Elsewhere, Willy Chavarria debuted a line of jockstraps and underwear, which were oh-so cleverly titled Dirty Willy Underwear. The torn and worn looking items seemed as if they’d been slicked in sweat, urine and other suspicous substances, but they were actually artisanally hand-painted to make it look so. How chic!

M.I.A has had an interesting 2024. Not only did the British rapper endorse Trump, claiming he would “ride America through the most challenging four years”, she also launched her own clothing line too. Revealing the collection on Alex Jones’s conspiracy-obsessed website Infowars, M.I.A’s line is intended to protect wearers from electromagnetic waves such as Wi-Fi and 5G, or “evil dust” according to her. Titled OHMNI, Alex Jones described the concept as “pure genius”, while the musician modelled her silver ponchos and t-shirt dresses during the hour-long interview. Apparently, the line provides “full brain protection day and night”, though we’re starting to think we need full brain protection from M.I.A’s recent endeavors.

Miu Miu has crowned many an It-girl over the past three decades. Miuccia Prada is known for her playful, era-defining campaigns, featuring the likes of Chloë Sevigny, Lindsay Lohan, Drew Barrymore, Elle Fanning and Amelia Gray. She’s also known for sending unexpected faces down her catwalks – take Mia Goth, Emma Corrin or FKA twigs for example. Arguably Miu Miu’s most surprising model of the year was Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe, who marched his way proudly down the catwalk, closing out Mrs P’s SS25 show in Milan. Whilst it was his Miu Miu debut, Dafoe made his first appearance in the Pradaverse back in 2012, during Prada’s AW12 catwalk show. This time around, he was joined by American actress Hillary Swank, Cara Delevingne and Alexa Chung too. Nicole Kidman’s daughter Sunday Rose opened the show – an It girl of tomorrow no doubt, meanwhile It-girl of today, Addison Rae, sat front row. We can only hope for more Dafoe fashion appearances in 2025.

Showing during New York Fashion Week rather than its usual Paris location, Alaïa was one of the first catwalk shows for the SS25 season. Taking place in early September and the first fashion show ever hosted at the Guggenheim museum, the crowd was seated and ready and for the show to start before being stunned into silence. Arriving last as always, Rihanna shuffled into the gallery, wearing an Alaïa pearl-encrusted bodysuit and draped in mesh netting that she held like a towel. The room held its breath. The only sound that could be heard was the clacking of her heels and the rustling of people reaching for their phones. We know that Rihanna loves fashion, and though she’s no newcomer to show season, she still has the power to make time stand still.

In the run-up to this year’s Met Gala, Doja Cat teased her look by stepping out in public wearing nothing but a bedsheet. Accompanied by Vetements’ creative director Guram Gvsalia, who “designed” the sheet, the pair went jewellery shopping in New York City. Occasionally, she flashed a black G-string while hoisting up the fabric. The outfit was a conscious choice referencing her later Met Gala look, which also, ended up resembling a bed sheet (though wet through this time), and another a Vetements creation. While it was less shocking on the Met red carpet, going diamond shopping in nothing but a sheet and thong certainly caught the internet’s attention.

Not only was Kamala “brat”, as proclaimed by Charli xcx, she also channelled Chappell Roan for her campaign branding. The Harris-Walz camouflage hat looked distinctly similar to Roan’s merch, which was also camo with orange lettering, featuring the words “Midwest princess” in reference to her debut album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.

The Kamala cap caused a craze across America, with sales surpassing $1 million just one day after its release. “Is this real?” Roan posted on X, and later posted a video saying she wouldn’t be endorsing either presidential candidate, despite the copy-caps.

Sure, Rihanna shut down Alaïa. Willem Dafoe closed Miu Miu. But no one caused a commotion this year quite like Beyoncé attending the Luar show. Shortly after the announcement of Cowboy Carter, Queen Bey made a rare appearance at New York Fashion Week to support her nephew and Solange’s 19-year-old son Daniel “Julez” Smith Jr who walked in the show. Solange and Tina accompanied her, meanwhile creative director Raul Lopez didn’t even know she was attending. Casting Julez might just have been accidental genius – bringing Beyoncé to Bushwick introduced the world to Luar on a much bigger scale and was the talk of the season. Bey really put Luar on top…