Fall 2024 felt like another season characterized by the majority of tentpole brands opting to play it safe rather than making a big statement or advance their artistry – nonetheless, among it all, there were some brilliant moments. The fashion calendar also featured exciting creative director debuts, brands struggling to find how to relate their historic identities to womanhood today, and – in an intriguing new trend – lots of interesting headwear.
In Milan, The recently-ish revitalized and steadily strong forces of Bottega Veneta and Ferragamo both incorporated a sense of surrealism into everyday luxury, albeit from quite different perspectives, while the second women’s collection from Sabato De Sarno at Gucci saw the creative director’s star continue to rise.
Jun Takahashi’s Undercover served up an excellent collection that exploded the boundaries of garment categories, fabric possibilities, and what can be worn when and where, showing us that originality and wearability can coexist, that the avant-garde can feel effortless, and that the greatest luxury in fashion is to not be confined by luxury. Ditto for Demna’s collection at Balenciaga.
The always on-point Prada leads the pack with a collection that combined historical fashion codes and elongated the human form to create a fashion statement that was both enigmatic and romantic.
Here are The Impression’s picks for the Top 10 runway shows of the Fall 2024 season as selected by our editor-in-chief, Kenneth Richard.
10 – Chloé
9 (tie) – Balenciaga
9 (tie) – Tory Burch
8 (tie) – Bottega Veneta
8 (tie) – Ferragamo
8 (tie) – Gucci
7 – Undercover
6 – Miu Miu
5 – Louis Vuitton
4 – Courrèges
3 – Erdem
2 – Burberry
1 – Prada
