“2023 was the first year after the pandemic when fashion started to exist in the world again,” says Steff Yotka, the head of digital content at Ssense. This year, the industry was rebirthed and nursed back to life after a historic hiatus. Fashion weeks were back in full swing, presentations and events were revitalised, showrooms were stocked, and overall, it proved the vitality of face-to-face time and human connection to stimulate the industry. As 2023 comes to a close, a period of reflection is warranted. Unpacking the joyous fashion milestones to highlight what the industry got right this year—even if, at times difficult—is all but necessary.
Resurrecting after the pandemic, new faces, fresh perspectives and icons emerged in the fashion space, diversifying the audience pool (and extending the tight invite lists). Welcoming a wave of emerging talent, a new level of acceptance and encouragement was embraced. Questioning if 2023 could be labelled the year of championing emerging designers, Yotka certainly admires the strides. “Before the pandemic, things got a bit routine. We consistently saw the same faces and breaking through the wall felt harder. This year, younger editors, stylists and influencers are now welcomed in the room,” she says. A celebratory cheer ignites in greeting new voices at the door, offering differing outlooks to challenge a suffocating sameness. “Clothes are made for people to live in and be worn. It’s a connective tissue to relate to others, and the industry was back and operating at its highest frequency this year, strengthening that ethos.”
To tie a knot on that momentum, new fashion capitals emerged outside the typical New York, London, Paris and Milan rotation—a turn of events where talent, culture and taste were showcased alternatively to traditional geographical expectations. Yotka felt plugged into new fashion cities such as Copenhagen, Seoul, Shanghai and Stockholm, representing a needed fashion globalisation push. “I think it’s really powerful because these are fashion weeks built on the backs of independent or emerging designers. In these cities, it’s not about a huge label backed by a conglomerate showing up and taking over the conversation. It’s a collective of emerging, cool brands, showing how powerful synergy can be,” she says. This progression demystifies barriers to entry that traditionally restricted designers. Today, not living in Paris or New York won’t hinder brand success or visibility. Social media has unlocked global accessibility, acting as a stepping stone to creating noise.
This year, journalist Odunayo (Ayo) Ojo noticed a shift in the industry towards honouring craft, a dying feature seemingly disappearing with luxury fast-fashion models. “There was a time in fashion a few years ago when it seemed that only hyped designers were landing roles at big brands. It was a merry-goround of creative directors not being a right fit. However, there’s recently been a shift. Traditional designers with the necessary resumes, backgrounds and brand appreciation have rightfully secured roles. It’s a needed change towards appreciating the craft and skill behind fashion,” he says. The lack of brand connection has archaically fuelled the industry, resulting in a revolving door of talent exiting roles due to a lack of brand comprehension. Ojo names Peter Do, the newly appointed creative director of Helmut Lang, as positively embodying this observation. “Peter Do understands and appreciates Helmut Lang as a brand. He actively wore it, was a fan and knew what the brand stood for. Now, moving there as a creative director, Peter Do feels a duty of care to ensure it’s successful,” Ojo says. Do’s debut show for Helmut Lang was easily one of the most anticipated shows of New York Fashion Week, especially after back-to-back stints of short-lived creative directors who unsuccessfully dictated the brand. It seems like this year, there’s finally some hope for the revitalisation of Helmut Lang.
“Moments like Pharrell being appointed the creative director of Louis Vuitton and Tom Ford retiring were milestones only because they ignited a broader conversation.”
Monumentally, creative director Sarah Burton took her final bow at Alexander McQueen this year. Burton joined McQueen’s team as an intern and quickly fused into the brand’s DNA with a 26-year occupancy. Although an emotional ending of an era, Burton expectantly received a standing ovation, recognising her committed efforts and dedication to the brand. Despite the tear-filled faces in the room, this moment is a turning point that can be recognized as a clearing of the slate. This chapter may have ended, but a new one has begun with Seán McGirr, who previously directed ready-to-wear at JW Anderson. “It was almost a passing of the guard moment,” says Ojo. In returning to the original works of McQueen, emotive themes of violence and surrealism are identifiable, which are similarly depicted at JW Anderson—documenting that discussed shift to the appreciation of craft needed to energise fashion, Ojo shares.
Inside the realms of online fashion communities, 2023 was the year when everyone had something to say. Fashion critic Rian Phin identifies an emerging democratisation of fashion, with polarising voices fuelling open discussions. “Moments like Pharrell being appointed the creative director of Louis Vuitton and Tom Ford retiring were milestones only because they ignited a broader conversation,” she shares. Voices of all backgrounds, expertise and education were suddenly welcomed to the table to have a say on the topic.
To Phin, discourse and dialogue have extended beyond the lens of traditional fashion media. Overdue topics of women’s empowerment, representation and diversity are being brought to the forefront this year. “Even if the shows weren’t directly activist-oriented, they set the platform for us to start thinking about women’s place in fashion and their abilities to be successful leaders,” she says. There’s been an identifiable chain where internet activism has led to real-life activism, with conversations extending beyond the screen to prompt structural change and call on brands to do more.
Similarly, fashion writer and analyst Mandy Lee, better known as @oldloserinbrooklyn on TikTok, believes this year heroically celebrated girlhood. Marked as the year of honouring feminine tropes (also known as Barbie), girl-oriented internet lingo such as ‘girl dinner’ backdropped against symbols of pink ribbons, frills and ruffles positively saluted femininity in a way never explored. This year, independent ‘girlie-approved’ brands such as Sandy Liang, Simone Rocha and Cecilie Bahnsen shone. “It was a huge year of wins for independent female-run brands,” Lee says. “Seeing independent brands succeed this year while knowing they are working with limited resources and not under a conglomerate was huge.”
Lee notes that although women are underrepresented in the industry today—specifically, a white male holds every creative director position at Kering—light has been drawn to this discrepancy and ignited a needed heated conversation. Having female brands spotlighted while adjacently bringing to life hyperfeminine motifs interjects a turning point. “A lot of the time, people associate hyper-femininity with being unserious, unprofessional or frivolous, and I don’t want to be infantised just because I like pretty things. Having that representation of women brands and more people on board this year felt like a permanent sleepover where everyone embraced each other. Truly, no one does womenswear like women,” Lee says. This unified front spilled over, building a community signalling the warranted recognition of female designers and the push for designers of colour.
“Good design speaks to people, no matter how it comes to life. People who love clothes will find a way to support designers, whether they’re verified by being on a runway or not,”
With sustainability finally extending beyond a buzzword and a hyper-awareness built around greenwashing, 2023 was a record year for upcycling. In taking matters into their own hands, communities got craftily resourceful and repurposed their belongings with pockets of closet sales opening up globally. Chloë Sevigny’s New York City closet sale was the trailblazer advertised as the “sale of the century,” followed by Girls star Jemima Kirke’s adaptation. Since then, circularity has been a driving force in consumer habits, rethinking how to recycle what we already have. Tangible actions of resourcefulness have sprouted globally, with a tone of seriousness surrounding these grassroots closet sales.
Although 2023 had its fashion highs and lows, positive touchpoints have manifested to foster industry advancements. Structures influencing the journey of becoming a designer have evolved with online communities, open dialogue and trailblazers shifting the traditional landscape to have needed conversations around accessibility and representation. This year, there was a greater acceptance and observation of doing things on your terms and at the right time, with kudos given to independent designers. “Good design speaks to people, no matter how it comes to life. People who love clothes will find a way to support designers, whether they’re verified by being on a runway or not,” says Yotka. Appreciation undoubtedly always seeps through. Although fashion still has work to do and is a forever-evolving industry, talent and craft speak for themselves and are always clearly identifiable.
The December ‘Carouse’ issue of Vogue Singapore is available for sale online and in-store from 14 December 2023.
