That’s my OPINION!!!
At this point, does the word ‘iconic’ still hold any weight?
With social media as the town hall in the digital age, everyone and their grandmother is free to give their opinion on just about everything and anything. But, when one person’s ‘slay’ is another’s ‘slaint’, where does that leave us?
With no answer unfortunately, we’ve decided here to define ‘iconic’ as ‘looks we’re still thinking about as 2023 ends’. Which, given our increasingly shrinking attention spans, is pretty notable at this point. Click through the gallery below to see who made the cut and sound off on your ‘robbed’ faves in the comments.
KYLIE JENNER
While the rest of the year has seen her peddling her own KHY brand, the top of 2023 saw Kylie Jenner attend Schiaparelli’s SS23 Couture show, seemingly having scalped Narnia’s Aslan. Twinning with a look worn by Irina Shayk in the show itself, the PETA-approved Dante’s Inferno-inspired ‘taxidermy’ harmed no animals in its making, with hours of painstaking detailing wizarding foam, wool, silk, and faux fur into the mane event.
TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET
A nod to the titular character in his latest film, Timothée Chalamet emulated Wonka with a wipe-clean plastic purple Prada jumpsuit for the Tokyo screening. Perfect for when you’ve got a shift at the hazardous waste factory at 10, and a red carpet premiere at 11.
HUNTER SCHAFER
The crown jewel of a trio of looks that saw the light of day from Ludovic de Saint Sernin’s debut (and final) collection for Ann Demeulemeester before he exited after only six months in the role. The perfect swansong.
DOJA CAT
Remember that hemorrhoid you were too scared to tell your parents about as a child? Well, this is her now. Believe it or not, underneath all of that is Doja Cat who sat in make-up legend Pat McGrath’s chair for five hours as 30,000 sparkling Swarovskis were applied all over her body.
PEDRO PASCAL
Men are usually few and far between on ‘best dressed’ lists and for good reason – their idea of taking a risk is wearing a suit without a tie (yawn!). At the 2023 Met Gala, Pedro Pascal was among a handful of risk-takers, showing off his slutty knee in these micro Valentino shorts. I want to [redacted] his [redacted].
RIHANNA
When doesn’t Rihanna look good? Exactly. Another year of iconic maternity ‘fits – including this custom Loewe breastplate moment for the Super Bowl – I’m still thinking about the shades that accompanied her Valentino Met Gala look. Clearly an homage to a Fiat 500 with lashes, right?
HARI NEF
A much-needed palette cleanser from all. that. pink. actress and model Hari Nef opted for a cutlery-covered dress courtesy of Dilara Findikoglu at Barbie’s London premiere. Literally serving.
YSEULT
The French singer solidified herself as a fashion girlie this year, with runway appearances at Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, and Marine Serre. Off the runway, this sparkling gown from Balenciaga’s Fall 2023 collection was among the Cannes red carpet highlights. More importantly, a masterclass in creating custom looks for curve models.
EMMA CORRIN
Emma Corrin continued to moonlight as a sexy librarian following their appearance at Miu Miu’s AW23 show and the accompanying campaign. Reigning champ of the no-pants trend, in Venice they went for a demure daytime-appropriate olive green pair with matching cardi.
JULIA FOX
We as a society moved on too fast from this. By now we’re used to Julia Fox’s barely-there ensembles – like this bunch of belts she wore to Diesel’s AW23 show. Signalling the return of human backpacks (about time), we’re unsurprisingly still thinking about this Mikhael Kale-designed body bag.
SAM SMITH
Part Michelin Man, part dominatrix, Sam Smith blew up the Brits red carpet in this bulbous inflatable suit courtesy of upcoming designer Harri.
BAD BUNNY
Another male Met moment came courtesy of Bad Bunny, who doubled up with Simon Porte Jacquemus to maximise their joint slay in matching backless suits. As a Jacquemuse and blushing bride, Bunny was given a white rose-covered train as the cherry on top.
TAYLOR RUSSELL
Serving Full Metal Jacket, actress and Loewe face Taylor Russell quite literally turned Anna Wintour’s head at the brand’s SS24 show in a metal coat designed in collaboration with artist Elie Hirsch for AW23. Is it comfortable? Doubtful. Does it require constant supervision? Yes (chic). Do we want one in every colour? Absolutely!
BEYONCÉ
It’s not really fair to include Beyoncé here, since we saw her in approximately 578 looks this year, but as she put it herself on “Alien Superstar”, ‘Don’t even waste your time trying to compete with me’. While her Renaissance tourdrobe was a revolving door of just about every brand you could think of – Loewe, Jacquemus, Marc Jacobs, Alexander McQueen, Mugler, Valentino, Rick Owens, Miu Miu, Gareth Pugh, you get it – I’m choosing this Pucci catsuit as my favourite. It’s giving Totally Spies realness.