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Yayoi Kusama x Louis Vuitton

Dezeen's top 10 fashion design moments of 2023

Schiaparelli gowns with faux taxidermied animal heads and a microscopic Louis Vuitton handbag feature in this year's top 10 fashion moments, which continues our 2023 review.

In an era that rewards viral trends and prominent brand collaborations, designers have continued to push the boundaries of fashion this year.

From striking clothing and footwear to memorable bags and store installations, here are Dezeen's top 10 fashion moments of 2023:


Photo of JW Anderson Spring Summer 2024
Photo courtesy of JW Anderson

Plasticine clothes by JW Anderson

British fashion house JW Anderson presented hoodies and tailored shorts crafted entirely out of plasticine as part of its Spring Summer 2024 womenswear show during London Fashion Week.

Sculpted and hardened into rigid but wearable forms, the clay clothes were designed to put "playfulness in pragmatism and pragmatism in playfulness", according to the brand.

Find out more about these clothes ›


MSCHF creates microscopic Louis Vuitton handbag
Photo courtesy of MSCHF

Microscopic Louis Vuitton handbag by MSCHF

Art collective MSCHF caused a stir by unveiling a 3D-printed Louis Vuitton bag that it called "smaller than a grain of salt", created to critique luxury fashion.

Made of neon-green photopolymer resin, the miniature bag was designed to question the functionality of increasingly small handbags produced by the fashion industry.

Find out more about this bag ›


Photo of Irina Shayk wearing a lions head at Schiaparreli
Photo courtesy of Schiaparrelli

Faux taxidermied gowns by Schiaparelli 

French fashion house Schiaparelli kicked off Paris Couture Week with a collection defined by three gowns, which looked as if they had been taxidermied from the bodies of a lion, a snow leopard and a black wolf.

Despite their hyper-realistic appearance, the brand used hand-sculpted foam, silk faux fur, resin and wool to create the much-discussed hand-painted dresses.

Find out more about these gowns ›


Photo of Yayoi Kusama Louis Vuitton inflatable
Photo courtesy of Louis Vuitton

Yayoi Kusama for Louis Vuitton

To mark a capsule collection created in collaboration with Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, Louis Vuitton positioned an oversized inflatable sculpture of Kusama atop its Champs-Élysées store in Paris.

Select Louis Vuitton outlets across the world featured similar installations including life-like and human-scale animatronics of the artist, which were placed in window displays with the robotic replica of Kusama repeatedly painting her trademark polka-dots onto the surface of the glass.

Find out more about these installations ›


Stella McCartney and Radiant Matter jumpsuit
Photo courtesy of Stella McCartney

BioSequin jumpsuit by Stella McCartney

This skin-tight all-in-one by Stella McCartney was embellished with hundreds of shimmering discs called BioSequins, an alternative to the petroleum-based plastic options on the market.

Developed by biomaterials company Radiant Matter, the iridescent sequins were created from renewable polymer cellulose extracted from trees, which naturally reflects light and makes the sequins sparkle.

Find out more about this jumpsuit ›


MSCHF and Crocs boot collaboration
Photo courtesy of MSCHF

Big Red Boots (Yellow) by MSCHF and Crocs

MSCHF teamed up with footwear brand Crocs to design a pair of jumbo yellow boots punctuated by the recognisable holes that define Crocs' Classic Clogs.

Called Big Red Boots (Yellow), the shoes are the latest iteration of oversized boots by the art collective, which previously created a similar pair of red boots modelled on those worn by the manga character Astro Boy.

Find out more about Big Red Boots (Yellow) ›


Tulle dress in Viktor & Rolf's Spring Summer 23 couture show
Photo courtesy of Viktor & Rolf

Rotated gowns by Viktor & Rolf

Tulle ballgowns characterised by "surreal" sideways and upside-down silhouettes were presented by Dutch fashion house Viktor & Rolf as part of its Haute Couture Spring Summer 2023 show during Paris Couture Week.

Called Late Stage Capitalism Waltz, the 18 ballgowns were 3D-printed and designed to invert "a singular and narrowly defined 'fashion ideal'," according to the fashion house.

Find out more about these gowns ›


Rewild the Run trainers by Kiki Grammatopoulos
Photo courtesy of Kiki Grammatopoulos

Rewild the Run by Kiki Grammatopoulos

Rewild the Run is a project by Central Saint Martins graduate Kiki Grammatopoulous, who created chunky, bristly outsoles for trainers that help to spread plants and seeds in cities.

Densely covered in tiny hooks that grip onto dirt and plant matter as the wearer treads, the shoes mimic the natural phenomenon of epizoochory, where seeds are transported by becoming attached to an animal's fur.

Find out more about Rewild the Run ›


Louis Vuitton handbag collection by Frank Gehry
Photo by Mario Kroes

Architecture-informed handbags by Frank Gehry for Louis Vuitton

Last week's design fair Art Basel Miami Beach saw Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning architect Frank Gehry release 11 limited-edition handbags for Louis Vuitton.

Gehry designed a trio of sculptural bags, which he designed based on the form and finish of three of his best-known buildings – the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle, Bilbao's Guggenheim Museum and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.

Find out more about these handbags ›


Uno bra by Katy Marks
Photo by Tara Darby

Uno bra by Katy Marks

Breast-cancer survivor and architect Katy Marks of Citizens Design Bureau created a collection of one-cup bras and bikinis after her own single mastectomy.

Designed for women to feel "confidently asymmetric", Uno fills a distinct gap in the market for one-cup bras that do not compromise on comfort or style, according to Marks.

Find out more about Uno bra ›


Dezeen review of 2023

2023 review

This article is part of Dezeen's roundup of the biggest and best news and projects in architecture, design, interior design and technology from 2023.