The Newest Front-Row Superstar & 13 More Fashion Month Superlatives

This season, there were exciting first collections from designers newly appointed to houses, like Sarah Burton’s feminine take on Givenchy and Julian Klausner’s quiet version of Dries Van Noten. Ackermann, however, was right on the money with his formal, intriguing vision for Tom Ford, which was rife with impeccable suiting, pastel gowns, and vampiric makeup worthy of recreating.

Yes, lots of shows employ live music for that intimate feel, but can you think of a brand that uses actual cellos as dresses? Hodakova is no stranger to repurposing materials, having used zippers, spoons, and belts before, but this direct pluck from an orchestra is the boldest yet.

Simone Bellotti of Bally is the industry favorite of Milan (who is now joining Jil Sander as creative director), and for his last show at the brand, an otherwise simple gray skirt suit was brought into the future with this exaggerated eyeliner and powder-blue blushed drape.

In a generally muted season, with the Oscars falling in between Milan and Paris leaving many celebs sidelined, Doechii stepped up to the plate and hit a homerun. Her and stylist Sam Woolf didn’t miss once, whether in corseted Schiaparelli, seductive Tom Ford, or strutting on the Dsquared2 runway. Her chameleonic music abilities clearly translate to fashion.

At Prada and Khaite, skirts looked almost saggy, with enough fabric scrunched around model’s waists to cover a football field. Our homemade tip: buy a skirt a few sizes too big and belt it.

There were shows at train stations (Versace, Louis Vuitton), shows at art galleries (Kallmeyer, Tory Burch), but our favorite take on runway adornment was the faux snow seen at Sandy Liang and Richard Quinn.

Last season, Tory took guests swimming on a Brooklyn rooftop, decking out the space to look like a drained pool. This season, to put it succinctly, was a gag. She took over two floors at the Museum of Modern Art, where models did a half marathon in the name of showing off her relaxed, contemporary sportswear.

We previously saw Kai pop up at the Balenciaga Couture show in June 2024 with her mom, Naomi Watts, but she made her fashion relationship runway-official at Valentino, walking exclusively for the brand. Not bad for a debut.

Fur, shearling, and its counterparts were on virtually every single runway this season, but our hearts were taken by the shearling coats and faux fur trimming at Chloé (the brand stopped using real fur in 2018).

We loved seeing Alexa Chung at Chloé, obviously, but our favorite cohort was at Marni. Paloma Elsesser, Tracee Ellis Ross, Dara, and Amelia Gray all joined other top models and street-cast folks who embodied the diverse, free-spirited ethos of the brand.

Our favorite celebrity style stars, more often than not, have worn Saint Laurent at least one. The brand closed out the week and brought out their impeccably decked-out girls — Charli XCX, Zoë Kravitz, Rosé, Hailey Bieber, Lila & Kate Moss, Amelia Gray, Iris Law — plus some suave men like Austin Butler and Danny Ramirez. 10s across the board.

The feathered headpieces were next level at Luar this season, but special shoutout to the versions with loose feathers, sequins, and tape, embodying his street-meets-couture sensibility so well.

While divas like Alex Consani and Elsesser always have a place in our heart, this season belonged to Lulu. She walked 31 shows, including this opening strut for Fendi.

There were several very convincing cases of matronly pieces, whether at No.21, Fendi, or Prada (pictured here). Of course, Prada’s are slightly f*cked up, with scrunched fronts, but the bag is classic Italian diva.