The 23 Biggest Fashion Moments Of 2016

For his final Saint Laurent collection, Hedi Slimane made quite the mark. The designer staged his own couture show for Fall 2016 in Paris at an 18th-century house on the Rue de l'Université. The collection looked to the 1980s couture scene for inspiration, featuring plunging dresses, strong-shouldered silhouettes, triangular earrings and a show-stopping red heart fur coat that became the standout piece of the collection and was later worn by Rihanna. For Slimane, it was the ultimate way to end his four-year tenure at the fashion house with impact.

Making a giant leap towards gender neutrality, Louis Vuitton cast Jaden Smith in its Series 4 womenswear campaign—wearing women's clothes. The 18-year old wore a Vuitton pleated skirt, tasseled shirt and leather jacket alongside models Sarah Brannon, Jean Campbell, and Rianne Van Rompae; nonchalantly breaking down gender barriers while doing so.

In June, the fashion world mourned the loss of beloved photographer, Bill Cunningham. The 87-year-old icon died following a stroke, creating a noticeably empty space in the industry—namely on the street style scene, during Fashion Week and at New York's most prestigious events. To commemorate him, Cunningham's go-to street style corner (57th and 5th) was renamed "Bill Cunningham Corner" in July and then during the first New York Fashion Week without him, photographers paid tribute to the legend by all wearing his signature blue jacket.

Streetwear hit its peak this year as the reining winner of the street style scene. From Vetements to Off-White, there was an influx of sweatshirts reading "May The Bridges I Burn Like The Way" and "You Fuck'n Asshole" making an appearance at almost every fashion event of the year. Let's not forget the craze of Vetements' DHL T-shirts, either.

The rise of see-now, buy-now runways completely shook up the Fashion Week calendar. An increasing number of designers—from Ralph Lauren and Tom Ford to Rebecca Minkoff and Tommy Hilfiger—opted to show current in-season collections that were ready to shop right from the runway, creating a seismic shift in the industry as a whole.

Hidden amongst the lineup of Marc Jacobs' Fall 2016 show was none other than Lady Gaga—who walked the runway in an oversized coat and towering platform heels. Like all the other models in the show, the singer had her hair bleached for the occasion. Gaga's appearance marked NYFW's biggest star-studded runway cameo of the season.

Karl Lagerfeld kissed Cuba's travel sanctions goodbye with a bang. The designer took Chanel's Cruise 2017 collection to the island and staged a runway show along Havana's Paseo del Prado. Lagerfeld brought a fashion flock of 700 with him, including the likes of Gisele Bundchen, Kendall Jenner, Tilda Swinton and more. The historic runway event debuted a collection inspired by Cuban culture from dresses printed with vintage cars to bright colors, sequin berets and tees reading 'Viva Coco Libre!'

After acting as co-creative directors of Valentino since 2007, Pierpaolo Piccioli and Maria Grazia Chiuri went their separate ways when Chiuri exited the fashion house in July. Together, the power design couple revitalized Valentino after founder Valentino Garavani stepped down in 2007. The pair showed their final joint Haute Couture collection, inspired by Shakespearean era style, in July before the devastating fashion breakup was announced and Chiuri was confirmed as the new creative director at Dior while Piccioli stayed on as the sole creative director at Valentino.

The designers' breakup was bittersweet, however, seeing as each went on to deliver show-stopping solo collections for both Valentino and Dior. Chiuri made history as the first-ever female creative director at Dior in the fashion house's 70-year history. For her debut Spring 2017 collection, Chiuri made the ultimate girl-power statement with T-shirts reading "We Should All Be Feminists" and "Dio(r)evolution" sprinkled into the looks. It was clear that the new Dior would be ultra-feminine and ultra-proud of the fact. Meanwhile at Valentino, Piccioli unveiled his first solo collection for the house with a whopping 64 looks which earned him a standing ovation. The collection featured a series of pink and red looks along with show-stopping daywear and handkerchief-hemmed dresses that won over the fashion crowd immediately—proving some breakups really are for the best.

Without a doubt, the younger Hadid sister was the emerging model-to-watch in 2016. Though she certainly won the model off-duty style scene this year, the model also won the Cannes Film Festival red carpet in the sexiest dress of the year. Hadid showed up in a silky red Alexandre Vauthier Couture gown with sky-high slits that left very little to the imagination and narrowly escaped a wardrobe malfunction.

Prince George caused a frenzy when he made a legendary style statement and wore a white terry-cloth bathrobe for a formal meeting with President Obama—winning the cutest fashion moment of the year, hands down. After spending years ogling Kate Middleton's looks, the royal tot made it clear that he's the real style contender of the family.

Kanye West created quite the spectacle at New York Fashion Week—but not exactly in the best way. The rapper/designer boarded industry insiders on an hour-long bus ride to an unknown show location, which turned out to be Smallpox Hospital on Roosevelt Island. Much like his past shows, models stood in tactical formation wearing spandex-like looks—this season, however, they stood on a field with the Manhattan skyline in the background. Teyana Taylor, Chanel Iman, Sofia Richie, Amina Blue and more walked the show which ended up being an hours-long project resulting in a few models fainting on the field due to heat and dehydration. It certainly got people talking, though...

Moss made the surprising jump from supermodel to business mogul this year. In a Business of Fashion profile, the super announced the Kate Moss Agency, a talent agency looking to discover the next big stars from singers to dancers to actors. Along with the announcement, Moss—who's notorious for not being on any forms of social media—finally joined Instagram with an official account for her new agency.

Leave it to three-year-old North West to wear a slip dress better than anyone else in 2016. The daughter of Kim Kardashian West and Kanye West reigned as the youngest style star of the year—stepping out in furry slides, velvet slip dresses, Yeezy boosts, logo tees and plenty of fur coats.

In the biggest fashion collaboration of the year, Tommy Hilfiger tapped It model-of-the-moment Gigi Hadid for a blowout see-now, buy-now collection. The duo's collab came to life at New York Fashion Week in September with a huge carnival spectacle dubbed 'Tommy Pier' on South Street Seaport. With 700 attendees in tow and A-list appearances from Gigi's BFF Taylor Swift and more, the show was ready to shop immediately after the runway ended. After the brand saw major success from the show—a 900 percent increase in website traffic and double-digit growth in both retail and e-commerce performance—a second collaboration show was announced for February 2017, this time taking place in Los Angeles.

The body positive model had a breakout year in fashion, shattering the stereotypical "plus-size model" boundaries. From starring in Sports Illustrated's Annual Swimsuit Issue to walking the H&M Studio fashion show, facing an H&M campaign and launching her own lingerie line with Addition Elle, Graham had her biggest year yet. The model also used her voice for good in the industry this year penning an essay about body shaming and speaking out about the importance of inclusivity. Graham also concluded the year in the most fitting way possible—by getting her very own Barbie, which she made sure had "thighs that touched" and curves.

As if Rihanna's Fenty Puma creepers and furry slides didn't dominate 2016 themselves, the singer/designer also headed to Paris to stage her second Puma collection. Making her Paris Fashion Week debut, she unveiled a collection inspired by "Marie Antoinette if she went to the gym" as only Bad Gal Riri could do. For her runway bow, she wore a pink lace suit, pearl choker and Puma fan—reminding us all of her style icon status.

In May, Diane von Furstenberg announced she would be handing the creative reins of her brand to London designer Jonathan Saunders. Saunders took over as chief creative officer and proved to be the perfect fit for the job when he debuted his first DVF collection in September—filled with prints, colors and '70s-inspired styles—to rave reviews.

Though there was too much at stake during the 2016 presidential election to discuss fashion, we couldn't help but notice the subtle theme of Hillary Clinton's debate night looks. The Queen of Pantsuits didn't stick to the "Democratic blue" dress code but instead opted for a more patriotic theme by wearing a red suit, a white suit and a blue suit to each of the debates. The Democratic candidate's winning suits were all by American designer Ralph Lauren.

From The Life of Pablo merch to Justin Bieber's Purpose Tour and even Kim Kardashian West launching her own, tour merchandise was inescapable this year. The trend dominated not only the street style scene but pretty much everywhere as the year's biggest trend that nobody could have predicted.

Just 48 hours after an audio tape of Donald Trump telling Billy Bush he "just grabs them [women] by the pussy" leaked, it was time for the 2nd presidential debate and all eyes were on the Trump family. At the debate, Trump didn't address the leaked tape but his wife Melania Trump did show up wearing a pink Gucci pussy bow blouse—a connection that certainly didn't go unnoticed. Mrs. Trump's pussy bow blouse was arguably the only fashion-related election news that made headlines in the extremely heated and drawn out presidential race.

After months of speculation, Raf Simons was finally confirmed as the new creative director at Calvin Klein in August. Following Simons' run at Dior and a shakeup at Klein, the industry was ecstatic at the idea of the designer taking over the helms at the American fashion house. His debut collection for the brand will hit the runway in February 2017 at New York Fashion Week.

And perhaps the most sad revelation about 2016 coming to an end is the fact that we'll be saying goodbye to Michelle Obama's knockout fashion moments as First Lady. Although it's been eight years of impeccable style, the FLOTUS really stepped up her fashion game in 2016 and hit a high-note in this sequin Versace Atelier gown at the Obamas' last State Dinner. It was the ultimate fashion mic drop.