Top 7 Iconic Runways Witnessed by the Fashion World

The fashion world revolves around the runways that take place throughout the year. It's the first glimpse of what a fashion house has in store for it’s admires for the coming months. It’s a make-it or break-it chance for these brands to se the tone for the season that is on its way and let us know what we have to look forward to. While the concept of runways is pretty standard, over the years the fashion world has lived to see certain shows that have made a lasting impressing on the audience as well as the industry as a whole.

Today we are going to take a moment to reflect on the Top 7 iconic runaways that were witnessed by the fashion world.

1. Yohji Yamamoto, Spring 1999

An enchanting show displaying a wedding themed collection that apparently left most of the audience in the front a teary mess. The show had models removing one dress only to reveal another underneath and then another. Yohji Yamamoto wanted to capture the many stories that are behind a wedding dress, he wanted to find out about the young generation’s life by working for the wedding dress. This show honoured the dark as much as it did the light, covering the wide range of human experience. This show became iconic not just for its execution but for the collection representing fashion for its consumers and also for the sake of art.

2. Alexander McQueen, Spring/Summer 2010

A graphic and structural celebration of nature’s beauty, Plato’s Atlantis became the last collection released by McQueen before his passing. This show represented the yin-yang of beauty and grotesque that is abundant in nature, through a technological lens. This show made a lasting impression beyond its collection by closing the gap between fashion and the masses. As Lady Gada debuted her “Bad Romance” at the show, the entire thing was live-streamed to give fans access. Suddenly, runway fashion was now being accessed when if you weren’t in the room.

3. Chanel, Fall 2014

Karl Lagerfeld is known for his out-of-the-box creativity and at this particular Chanel show he outdid everything he or anyone in the fashion industry had ever done. He reimagined the whole word to be un grand magasin (a megastore) under the double C. The shelves were stacked with at least 500 everyday items recoded to fit Chanel. This show saw the fashion world’s greatest and biggest names turn into kids at a candy store. Karl Lagerfeld somehow celebrated and created a satire out consumerism at the same time.

4. Versace Milan Fashion Week show, 1997

This show became iconic for reasons beyond the visuals. One of the most emotional shows witnessed by the fashion industry, the 1998 Spring runway was the first show that followed the assassination of Gianni Versace. This show was a tribute from Donatella to her late brother who was the vision behind this Maison. The audience comprised of old rivals including Giorgio Armani, Miuccia Prada, and Karl Lagerfeld. The collection featured many of Gianni’s favourites-from “barely there dress” to prints. While the show will always be been known for the first show without Gianna, it was the first show with Donatella at the helm of all things and it fell short of making an impact with the collection was that displayed. In her nerves of trying to capture her brother’s essence, she lost her vision. It was emotion that carried the show and what the audience took home.

5. Rick Owens, Spring/Summer 2014

Ditching the “traditional” models, Rick Owens decided to work with step teams from across the country who performed routines during his Spring/Summer 2014 runway. The collection consisted of ensembles which allowed movement. Rick Owens adopted a style inspired by streetwear and martial arts, instead of his typical goth aesthetic. His collection became one of the first to display a different range of bodies on the runway.

6. Saint Laurent, Spring/Summer 2013

Marking Hedi Slimane’s debut at the fashion house and in womenswear, this collection was the first after he dropped Yves from the official name and rebranded a whole new and almost controversial Saint Laurent woman. Appearing as an amalgam between Los Angeles rock ’n’ roll and classic YSL, this Saint Laurent rock chick appealed to the millennials. Despite the show being deemed the doom of YSL, his collection proved everyone wrong by being sold out the second it hit the stores.

7. Jacquemus, Spring 2021

This collection has transformed the way we look at runways henceforth. In times where social distancing and isolation is at its peak, L’Amour represents how it can endure and grow stronger in the absence of people being together. Taking place in a quaint village outside of Paris, with just one row of guests seated six feet apart from each other in a wheat field, this show manifested romanticism and a dreamlike sequence.