And so, it has ended. Another month of fashion filled with the Big 4 fashion week locations along with the hottest trends that you’ll be sure to see soon in brick-and-mortar stores everywhere.

And I must say, the 2018 version of fashion week has changed the game. Unfortunately, runway pictures are not for reuse, so be sure to check out all the looks I'm talking about with the links throughout the article!

First things first: model diversity.

Although we, as a society, have a long way to go in accepting all races, body types, and sexual orientations, fashion week and the designers who participated have made headlines and strives to make people more accepting. Acceptance is rarely commercialized and is partly the reason why I think it’s so overdue; it’s not reaching the mass amounts of people in the right way. However, the designers made sure to try and change that.

Before NYFW kicked off the Big 4 fashion shows, there was a social movement, a petition signed by 43 models demanding more model diversity this year, it seems to have taken effect. Christian Siriano was using diverse models before it was cool. Siriano is known for incorporating all walks of life into his shows, and this year was no different. Ashley Graham opened his show, because Siriano, “[had] to show that a curvy woman could open a show at fashion week.” And show, he did. Along with other plus-sized models came Danielle Brooks, a star in “Orange is the New Black”, as well as other models of various color and ethnicity. Snaps for Siriano and his entire collection.

Chromat also joined the diversity movement in incorporating various colors in their designs, as well as in their models. Chromat’s creative director, Becca McCharen new exactly what fashion boundaries were and how to break them. Firstly, she broke the stigma that models don’t eat or are too skinny. She was one of the few who broke the low-carb diet and sent her models down the runway eating Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.

Calvin Klein also incorporated food into his show by layering the floor with six inches of popcorn (does the three-second rule exist here?). McCharen also made waves in selecting a hijab-wearing model, Halima Aden, whom also modeled for Kanye West’s Yeezy show. Along with these ground-breaking trends, Chromat also featured Carmen Carrera, a trans model and former contestant on RuPaul’s Drag Race, and Viktoria Modesta, an amputee who sported a prosthetic leg from the knee down.

Some other honorable mentions go to Prabal Gurung and Michael Kors (plus-sized models), Tome (elder models), and J. Crew (“real people” models).

Statement Clothing

Per the political unrest in America, designers decided to make a statement – or multiple for that matter.

One common statement factor was that of the #TiedTogether. White bandanas were seen throughout the collections of Tommy Hilfiger, Prabal Gurung, Thakoon, and Diane von Furstenberg. Amongst these designers was Dior, who also went a step further.

Read more about what #TiedTogether is about, where you can get your own bandana, and check out all the designers that included the bold statement into their show.

At the Dior show, guests were gifted with a white bandana that read, “Feminist: A person who believes in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes.” Along with the bandanas, guests also enjoyed viewing shirts on the runway that read, “We Should All Be Feminists” and “Dio(R)evolution.”.

Another trend, made famous by the Women’s March on Washington, were the pink pussy hats debuted in Missoni’s show. Each guest was greeted by the playfully pink hat on their seat and were encouraged to wear them, just as every model wore them in the show.

Be sure to check out just what went down the runway with the pink pussy hats at Missoni's show.

Some other political statements were seen in T-shirts and outfits in shows like Creatures of Comfort (“We Are All Human Beings” shirt), Christian Siriano (“People Are People” shirt), Milly (“Unbreakable” gifted shirt to guests), and LRS who’s creative director is Mexican-born Raul Solis sent “Fuck Your Wall” underwear down the runway.

And an honorable mention to Burberry in sending Cara Delevingne down the runway in a luxurious rainbow cape – which somehow, she pulled off.

See all the 22 designers who pulled political stunts this year, and admire the glorious rainbow cape.

A show within a show.

As if sending amazing, daring, and innovative designs down the runway weren’t enough, designers of 2018 also incorporated a show into their show.

My personal favorite was that of The Blonds. Their devilish theme with bedazzled busts and thigh-high boots that were made for walking was riveting to watch. To close out the show, Daphne Guinness, who also modeled in the show, performed a rock-show song with guitarists Steven Fairweather and Malcolm Doherty. Rock on, Blonds.

Fashion is like that of a surgeon, “cutting, assembling, experimenting on the operating table”, says the creative director of Gucci, Alessandro Michele. Well, apparently, he didn’t mean that metaphorically. Because, on the set of his Milan Fashion Week show, surgical precision was definitely present. Michele designed the runway as an operating room; blinding surgical lights, operating beds, and the off-putting green color often seen in hospitals. Also off-putting were the heads that some models carried down the runway with them as accessories. Oh, and they were exact replicas of the models who carried them. Freaky. Check out the full set up at Gucci’s twitter account.

Lastly, there is the matter of replacement. The replacement of dolls for drones. During Milan Fashion Week, Dolce & Gabbana started off their show in an unexpected way: with drones. These drones were sent out to the runway, carrying various purses from the brand’s collection. Some called it tacky and uninteresting, I call it daring and innovative. Will this be the beginning of the cyborg revolution and take over? Probably not.

However, all of these breakthroughs and originalities make me excited to see what 2019 and beyond hold…