The 13 most buzzworthy fashion statements of 2022, ranked

The 26-year-old supermodel went viral after closing out French label Coperni's Spring-Summer 2023 show in a dress that was sprayed on in front of a live audience. Social media videos of the iconic moment show Hadid wearing nothing but a nude thong as Manel Torres — a Spanish fashion designer and creator behind the patented spray-on fabric Fabrican — showered her with mists of liquid that slowly morphed into a figure-fitting dress. The dress was then altered with a neckline and a high leg slit before Hadid strutted down the runway.

 

Spray paint technology is not a foreign concept in haute couture — Alexander McQueen first implemented the technology 23 years ago for his Spring 1999 collection. However, Hadid's showcase is the first time a full outfit has been created purely from spray-on fabric, thus changing the future of fashion as we know it.

Hathaway channeled her iconic "The Devil Wears Prada" character, Andy Sachs, while attending a Michael Kors show at New York Fashion Week. Her complete look featured an all-black turtleneck sweater with a brown croc-embossed skirt and a matching trench coat, which was very reminiscent of Sachs' final outfit in the 2006 comedy-drama film.

 

Per Hathaway, the entire look was put together by accident. "I was supposed to wear something else," she later said during an October appearance on the "Today" show. "The shoes didn't fit, this was the other outfit that came."

 

The real highlight of the moment was Hathaway sitting next to Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, who served as the inspiration for Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) in the film.

Holmes' simple Y2K ensemble of a sleeveless mini dress, loose-cut jeans and black sneakers sent the internet into a frenzy. Some said her look was "so bad that it's actually camp" while others asked, "How dare Katie Holmes have the audacity to try to bring back" the outdated dress-over-jeans trend.

 

Holmes' stylist, Brie Welch, later defended the ensemble in an interview with The New York Times, saying, "We decided the rich color and subtle bustier effect detailing of the top was elegant and would be fun if paired with jeans." Welch added that both she and Holmes wanted to flaunt "a more youthful feel for Jingle Ball and the atmosphere there." 

The "Uncut Gems" star, who is notably co-director Josh Safdie's muse for the film, quickly rose to popularity for her ludicrous yet divisive street style. There's her underwear in the parking lot look, her plunging V-crotch leather trousers look and her teeny-tiny denim bra top look.

 

But her most outrageous getup was the menacing "Grip" dress she wore to Vanity Fair's 2022 Oscars after party. Designed by Han Kjøbenhavn, a Copenhagen-based label that specializes in leather and fur, the all-black dress featured a claw-like hand gripping Fox's neck. The complete look also included leather gloves and a clutch that Fox claimed was made of human hair. That's not creepy at all.

The R&B singer's risque BET awards outfit — which consisted of a bejeweled miniskirt, black and gold body jewelry and matching gold nipple covers — was reportedly inspired by the Indigenous Hmong people of Southeast Asia (why??). Many online critics accused Walker of cultural appropriation and deemed her showcase as disrespectful. Following the backlash, Laurel Street — the brand that designed Walker's look — issued a statement on its Instagram story apologizing for "not sharing and educating on the history of the Hmong people" and asserting that it was not its "intention to sexualize" the jewelry Walker wore.

If Chalamet's recent red carpet outfits told us anything, it's that the 26-year-old actor is not afraid of challenging or breaking gender norms. Chalamet did exactly that while promoting his new coming-of-age romance film "Bones & All" at the 2022 Venice Film Festival, where he bared his back in a bright red halter-neck jumpsuit by designer Haider Ackermann. The complete look was finished off with a pair of black boots (akin to cowboy boots) and a pair of black RayBan sunglasses.

 

On Twitter, fans gushed, "Timothée Chalamet is the most special sexy man alive.. no one can forget him," and even proclaimed, "I let [sic] the Timothée Chalamet crush me."

Prior to its September premiere, "Don't Worry Darling" — Olivia Wilde's psychological thriller — was at the center of multiple scandals and conspiracy theories. Amid rumors of rifts and feuds amongst the cast, star Florence Pugh attended its premiere at the Venice Film Festival in a black Maison Valentino frock that was later dubbed a "revenge dress."

 

The elaborate off-the-shoulder gown, with built-in hotpants and a winding train, was interpreted by many as an act of defiance, presumably toward Wilde, whom she allegedly had a issues with). Not to mention, Pugh was not in attendance at a press conference for the film that took place just a day prior. Per Wilde, Pugh's absence was due to scheduling conflicts and a late-arriving flight. But those claims were debunked when Pugh was spotted in Venice, wearing an all-purple Valentino fit and holding a matching clutch in one hand and an Aperol spritz in the other.

The contentious couple raised eyebrows with their bizarre Halloween costumes, which seemed to poke fun at their vast 10-year age gap. Pictures showed Eilish, 21, dressed as a baby, while Rutherford, 31, dressed as an old man. Fans were quick to call out the bizarre couples costume on Twitter, saying, "Something doesn't sit right with me knowing that Billie Eilish dressed up as a baby and Jesse Rutherford dressed up as an old man" and calling the relationship both "wrong" and "weird." Others speculated that Eilish and Rutherford were trolling online critics after receiving an outpour of backlash.

 

Shortly after their Halloween stunt, the pair made their red carpet debut, dressed in matching Gucci sleepwear and covered in a giant Gucci blanket.

After staying quiet about her pregnancy, Rihanna announced the news via a series of iconic maternity outfits, which showcased her growing belly front and center. A few of her notable ensembles include her sheer black Valentino gown worn at Jay Z's Oscars after party, her silver two-piece outfit for a Fenty Beauty event in Los Angeles, her lingerie-themed getup at the Dior show at Paris Fashion Week and, most notably, her custom slinky set worn at a launch event for her Fenty Beauty and Fenty Skin lines. 

 

"It's been me personally saying, I'm not going to buy maternity clothes — I'm not gonna buy maternity pants, jeans, dresses, or [do] whatever society told me to do before," Rihanna told Bustle. "When I saw women dress during their pregnancy [in the past], I'd think that that was the only way. So I challenged myself to push it further and really just have fun with [maternity style]."

The Queen of Halloween hosted her 21st annual Halloween bash dressed as a grotesque earthworm with husband Tom Kaulitz accompanying her as a fisherman. Making Klum's suit was no easy feat — per The Hollywood Reporter, the whole process took four months of development and 12 hours to apply — and wearing it wasn't either. "I was so claustrophobic in that costume," Klum said. "It is one thing to add prosthetics to your body — but to be stuck inside the worm body and not really be able to use my arms or feet was not very comfortable. But Halloween is not about comfort."

 

The costume also spurred a slew of internet memes, with fans referencing the classic "Would You Still Love Me If I Was a Worm" joke. Others likened Klum's worm to a vertical shawarma broiler, meat or bacon and, even cruelly, Samantha Jones' raw, red face post-chemical peel.

Pugh bared her chest in a sheer pink gown at Valentino's Fall/Winter 2022 Haute Couture runway show in Rome. Naturally, the outfit garnered outrage from online trolls, who shamed Pugh and criticized her body.

 

The actress later took to social media to address the backlash, writing in a caption, "Listen, I knew when I wore that incredible Valentino dress that there was no way there wouldn't be a commentary on it. Whether it be negative or positive, we all knew what we were doing. I was excited to wear it, not a wink of me was nervous. I wasn't before, during or even now after."

 

She added, "What's been interesting to watch and witness is just how easy it is for men to totally destroy a woman's body, publicly, proudly, for everyone to see. You even do it with your job titles and work emails in your bio."

 

Shortly after the controversy, Pugh freed her nipples yet again in a sheer long-sleeved nude crop top with a matching maxi skirt and a pink nightdress at the British Independent Film Awards.

During his surprise Yeezy fashion show in Paris, the controversial rapper wore a black t-shirt emblazoned with the message "White Lives Matter" on the back. A matching white version of the shirt was also donned by controversial political personality Candace Owen.

 

In an Oct. 7 interview with Tucker Carlson, West explained why he wore the shirt, saying, "I do certain things from a feeling, I just channel the energy. It just feels right. It's using a gut instinct, a connection with God and just brilliance."

 

He added, "People, they're looking for an explanation, and people say, 'Well, as an artist you don't have to give an explanation,' but as a leader, you do. So the answer to why I wrote 'White Lives Matter' on a shirt is because they do. It's the obvious thing."

Perhaps the most buzzworthy fashion moment from this year is Kardashian's infamous Marilyn Monroe showcase at the Met Gala. The reality TV star broke the internet yet again when she donned Monroe's iconic 1962 gown — in which the esteemed actress sang "Happy Birthday Mr. President" to John F. Kennedy at Madison Square Garden — before changing into a lookalike gown. The brief moment was enough to spur criticism from internet critics and costume historians, who deemed it as a sign of disrespect. In fact, the outrage was so immense that the International Council of Museums, the novelty museum that bought the dress for $4.8 million at a 2016 auction, issued renewed guidelines on handling historic garments.

 

To add to the controversy was Kardashian's strict and extreme diet regime that helped her lose 16 pounds in three weeks to fit into the original dress. In an interview with Vogue, she explained, "I would wear a sauna suit twice a day, run on the treadmill, completely cut out all sugar and all carbs, and just eat the cleanest veggies and protein."