fashion

Nipple ribbons and nightmare fuel: Mamamia recaps the most unhinged Fashion Week ever.

Over the past few years, Fashion Week has become more about the viral moments than the clothes.

Blame TikTok culture and the meme-ification of fashion, but this season's marathon of Autumn-Winter shows, taking place across New York, London, Milan and Paris, has seen more stunts than a motocross event.

Where a celebrity in the front row used to make headlines, the ante has well and truly been upped: now, designers are working with their PR teams to engineer spectacle after spectacle for social media audiences. The rule seems to be if it's bound to go viral, it goes on the runway. And things are getting... weird.

Below, we recap the 10 biggest moments of fashion month in order of 'WTF'.

1. Gucci's 68 identical twins.

Firstly, where do you even find 68 pairs of identical twins? Some kind of twin-only modelling agency?

Turns out they were scouted at Twins Day, an annual twin convention that takes place in Twinsburg, Ohio. We have to commend Gucci's eccentric creative director Alessandro Michele for outdoing himself here. 

Twinspo at Gucci. Image: Getty.

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In a previous runway show models carried replicas of their own heads like they were handbags, but this is somehow more remarkable.

The designer cited the idea as a tribute to his mother and her twin sister, whom he grew up fascinated by. The show was also a commentary on duality and 'otherness'. 

Plus, there was a dress with a Gremlin on it. No word yet on how the gremlin fits with the vision, but it's Gucci, so sometimes you've just gotta do this ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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2. Paris Hilton closing the Versace runway.

It's not that Paris Hilton doesn't fit as a brand ambassador for Versace. That definitely checks out. She's just not someone you... expect to see closing a runway show at Fashion Week. Miami, maybe, but not Milan.

But there she was, in her pink glomesh dress and veil giving 'bridal Barbie' and strutting down the runway like only Paris can. All that was missing was a soundtrack of 'Stars Are Blind'.

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3. Kanye's bedazzled thongs.

In case you missed it, Kanye West wore a pair of silly shoes to the Burberry show and the internet lost its mind.

So silly! Image: Getty.

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Maybe it's because he teamed his sparkling thongs with black socks and a full leather outfit and also a hood.

Weird flex, but okay Ye.

4. Nipple ribbons at Acne.

We did not expect next Winter's trend report to include ribbons for your boobs (seems cold?) but again, here we are.

Who needs those pesky bras? Image: Getty.

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5. Kim Kardashian's problematic Dolce & Gabbana collab.

Another day, another Kim Kontroversy.

Kardashian worked with the design duo to reimagine a series of archive looks from the heritage Italian brand for their 'Ciao, Kim' show. And although the outfits were fabulous, the collaboration was a move damned by many given Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce have been mired by controversy in recent years – from racist tones in an advertising campaign to homophobic comments relating to gay men having children.

Not to mention Gabbana once said the Kardashians were "the most cheap people in the world". Awks.

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Guess it's all water under a very glamorous bridge.

6. Cher in a catsuit at Balmain.

If you thought no one could one-up Paris Hilton, you were wrong. 

The living legend that is Cher closed the show at Balmain, wearing a printed unitard no less. Taking a bow with the creative director for the French house, Olivier Rousteing, it was another reminder that Cher is essentially ageless.

File under: things we didn't expect. Image: Getty.

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7. Nightmare fuel at Prada.

Is this a fashion show or a horror movie? Prada opted for some truly nightmare-inducing eyelash extensions and now all we can think about is The Grudge.

Why are you dressed so scary? Image: Getty.

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8. Fendi's frow-off.

We never thought we'd see the day Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Kardashian were seated next to each other in a front row, but hey – stranger things have happened (see... all of the above). 

The two fashion icons made an appearance together for Fendi's 25th-anniversary celebration of the iconic Baguette handbag, for which SJP designed a collection of bags.

There were some other celebs next to them but honestly, we kind of blanked them out.

Naomi Watts is not sure why she came. Image: Getty.

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8. A suit covered in ants at Schiaparelli.

The new Schiaparelli thrives on unexpected details that make you look again.

Case in point: this lovely red tweed suit was embellished in hundreds of bull ants and no thanks, we'll just take the suit without the insects?

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9. *That* Devil Wears Prada moment at Michael Kors.

You can't tell us Anne Hathaway wasn't aware of the field day the internet was about to have with this situation.

Wearing an outfit reminiscent of Andy Sachs, seated next to Miranda Priestley Anna Wintour, we had to do a double take. 

Was Wintour in on it? Did Hathaway throw her phone into a fountain after the show? Did she go home and eat a grilled cheese sandwich with like eight dollars of Jarlsberg in it? All questions we need answers to.

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10. Finally, a Spongebob-themed fashion show.

TBH we're surprised it took this long to give Spongebob the fashion credit he deserves.

GCDS, the viral Italian brand known for its subversive designs, showed a collection devoted to the talking yellow sponge and other characters from Bikini Bottom.

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea... Image: Getty.

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Image: Getty.

11. Bella Hadid's spray-painted dress.

Last season Italian label Coperni made headlines for its covetable glass handbags, which have been carried by the likes of Kylie Jenner and Doja Cat.

For this show, an almost-naked Bella Hadid walked onto the runway and stood there while assistants spray-painted a liquid dress onto her body, which turned into a kind of clingy, drapey white fabric that was secure enough for her to walk the rest of the catwalk in. 

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We have to say this was actually pretty cool, as far as stunts go. 

And that's a wrap. Told you it was weird.

Tamara Holland is Mamamia's Head of Lifestyle and the host of What Are You Wearing? For more fashion commentary, follow her on Instagram.

Feature image: Getty/Mamamia.

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