12 Fashion Week Moments That Kept Us Talking

Fashion weeks have been happening around the world for almost two straight months. They started with the men’s wear shows in January, which were followed by the couture shows, which were followed by the four consecutive fashion weeks in New York, London, Milan and Paris. (Somehow, Copenhagen managed to squeeze in its fashion week during this time, too.)

We covered most every spectacle in real time, but there were other moments we flagged to revisit. Some became lodged in our brains because they made us smile. Others made us gag, or think. Whatever the reason, all were things that kept us talking long after we first saw them.

A Revolutionary Take on Straps …

All strapped up and ready to go at, from left, Loewe, Hermès and Sacai.Credit…From left, Isidore Montag; Filippo Fior; Maria Valentino/MCV Photo

Have you ever wished you could hike up your long skirt or coat for day, and let it down when the moment arrived? Presenting the skirt strap (at Loewe). Or the parka strap (at Hermès). Worn over one shoulder à la handbag, but attached to the hem of a garment — or to an enormous pocket that acts like a handbag (at Sacai) — the straps allow the wearer to customize the length of their outfit: the epitome of an incredibly obvious, very smart innovation we can’t believe no one has thought of before. — Vanessa Friedman

… And Denim Scraps

Upcycling has been gaining steam for awhile now on the runway. But rarely have leftover scraps looked as gorgeous as they did at Y/Project, where what appeared to be hanging gardens of embroidered bougainvillea or whole networks of lacy capillaries on little black dresses and chiffon evening gowns turned out to be … shreds of old denim. Sometimes inspiration really is in the jeans. — V.F.

Robot Dogs

For the second season in a row, the Coperni designers Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant might have been responsible for the most viral moment of fashion week. The duo — who last fall had a machine spray paint a dress onto the nearly naked body of the model Bella Hadid — at their latest show had a pack of robot dogs prowl the runway like wolves as models made their way down it. One of the robots went so far as to caress a model’s face before tugging a jacket from her shoulders with its arm. Cool or creepy? Neither we, nor the internet, could decide. — Elizabeth Paton

Frog Clogs

There was a frisson of delight when models paraded down the runway at the JW Anderson men’s show in skivvies and pairs of joyously silly green frog clogs produced in partnership with Wellipets, a British rainwear brand best known for its googly-eyed, frog-toed Wellington boots. Though the designer Jonathan Anderson had offered a sneak preview of JW Anderson’s collaboration with Wellipets in advance of the show, that did not stop the clogs from providing what Highsnobiety called the “serotonin boost” that many in the crowd needed. — Guy Trebay

Crowd-Surfing Models

Sunnei’s founders, Loris Messina and Simone Rizzo, warned guests that their show contained some element of audience participation via pamphlets dispersed at the door. But even with the heads up, there were still gasps when the first model to walk down the elevated runway fell backward into the crowd, as if trust falling into the audience. Then the crowd surfing began. All of the models were employees of the young brand, a detail that Mr. Messina and Mr. Rizzo said underscored the show’s concept: For a brief moment, Sunnei was literally being held up and supported by its audience. — Jessica Testa

Rose-Scented Dresses

Susan Fang, one of China’s most exciting emerging designers, often finds inspiration in nature. This season, dried petals formed the runway at her namesake brand’s show, which featured several breathtaking dresses that filled the air with a rose-scented mist as models walked by. The mist was funneled through tentacle-like appendages attached to the garments, and released by sprinklers woven into their crinoline skirts. The technology was developed by Ms. Fang’s father, who owns a factory that produces equipment for Shanghai’s fire department. — E.P.

Transcendent Men’s Wear

Though categorized as men’s wear, that is hardly the term for the designer Willy Chavarria’s latest collection of starkly tailored clothing in silhouettes evocative of a priest moonlighting as zoot-suiter. At once elegiac and sanguine, Mr. Chavarria’s show this February was the most potent proof yet of his rightful place at the forefront of American design. This was evident from its very start, when Dorian Wood — a multidisciplinary artist who breezes past artistic and gender norms — opened the show by serenading the audience while descending the wood-paneled stairs of the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in a voluminous off-the-shoulder dress and with slick-backed hair festooned with a white silk flower. — G.T.

Light-Up ‘Makeup’

Once upon a time, the designer Mowalola Ogunlesi was a right-hand woman to Ye, formerly Kanye West, as the design director of Yeezy Gap. But these days, Ms. Ogunlesi is making waves all on her own. For her brand’s New York-themed show at London Fashion Week, which explored technology’s ever-stronger grip on our everyday lives, she collaborated with the makeup artist Isamaya Ffrench, who covered models with tiny LED lights that when lit looked more like gems on their faces and bodies. Talk about a glow up! — E.P.

Color-Changing Coats

Kunihiko Morinaga, the designer of Anrealage, has a taste for playing tricks on the eye and tickling the mind with clothes that challenge perceptions. At his latest show, pairs of models walked onto a stage in nearly identical white jackets and robes made from materials like faux fur, jacquards and lace. The models stood there as an ultraviolet light descended and scanned their garments, which under the light transformed into vibrantly colored and patterned pieces. (Mr. Morinaga said that out in the wild, the clothes’ transformations would depend on the weather and seasons.) Call it the magic of fashion week. — E.P.

Armani Evokes Rihanna

If Rihanna can whip out some product and ostentatiously powder her nose during the Super Bowl, Giorgio Armani can have his last model do the same during his show. Out she came, wearing a fringed skull cap and a long black dress covered in sequins, the final look of a collection inspired by maquillage and the rituals of beauty. Brandished in the model’s hands were a cosmetic puff and an open compact, which not only allowed her to admire her (admittedly fabulous) look all the way down the runway, but also reminded watchers where the real ka-ching of luxury brands is generated. — V.F.

‘Werk’ Wear

A frequent reference for the designer Aaron Potts is the visionary American jazz musician Sun Ra and his extravagantly costumed Arkestra ensemble. Since Mr. Potts started his namesake independent label, Apotts, he has cultivated a similarly devoted group of followers, collaborators and friends. The designer’s latest presentation featured members of that tribe in all their glorious dispersion, clothed in genderless garments including hooded dresses, knit yeti coats and drop-crotch “werksuits” like the one Queen Latifah wore soon afterward at the N.A.A.C.P. awards. — G.T.

Jared Leto’s Front-Row Tour

The actor Jared Leto made appearances at, clockwise from top left, the Schiaparelli, Vivienne Westwood, Off-White and Givenchy shows in Paris.Credit…Clockwise from top left, Geoffroy Van Der Hasselt/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images; Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images; Matthew Avignone for The New York Times; Benoit Tessier/Reuters

They sought him at Acne. They sought him at Off-White. They sought him at Chanel. Like the Scarlet Pimpernel, Jared Leto seemed to be everywhere during Paris Fashion Week. Maybe the actor was at show after show to shop for a new brand because his B.F.F. and former semi-personal couturier, Alessandro Michele, left Gucci last fall. Maybe Mr. Leto was researching his next big role as the designer Karl Lagerfeld in a biopic that the actor is also co-producing. Or maybe he was just figuring out what he wants to wear to the next Met Gala, which for Mr. Leto may be more like a meta gala: It is honoring Mr. Lagerfeld. — V.F.