With Paris Fashion Week drawing to a close and the bi-annual seasonal flurry of shows once again resigned to the New Year, we look back on some of the most shocking catwalk moments in history…
From Naomi falling off her high heels on the catwalk in the '90s, to paint being thrown at Anna Wintour by anti-fur protesters in Paris; the spectacular runway sets are often just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to dramatic sights seen at Fashion Week!
1. Naomi Campbell’s Fall From Grace The original supermodel took fashion’s first tumble by spectacularly falling off her Vivienne Westwood heels during the London show in 1993. Cue gasps of horror from the crowd.
2. Fashion Goes Plus Size Curvy model Sophie Dahl walked the runway in 1997. Sadly, this sent shockwaves throughout the industry, who were at the peak of the heroin chic movement.
3. Come Fly With Me In 1997, Designer Andrew Groves sent a model down the catwalk with a jacket containing hoards of flies, moments before unleashing them into a horrified crowd at London Fashion Week.
4. Fashion Gets Political Designer Katherine Hamnett gathered celebrities such as Jodie Kidd to walk down the catwalk wearing t-shirts emblazoned with political slogans like ‘Stop The War, Blair Out’; making instant front-page news around the globe.
5. Andrej Made Her Entrance Transgender Andrej Pejic walked the Womenswear catwalk for Jean Paul Gaultier in 2011, bending fashion's previously rigid gender rules.
6. A Final Farewell At Hermès Known for having a penchant for the dramatics; live horses were used on stage during the SS/11 show in an eight strong dressage ring, with models dressed in jodhpurs, as Jean Paul Gaultier brought out all the stops for his final farewell at the helm of Hermes.
7. Kate Moss Lights Up The Catwalk The Brit-born model made a political point of lighting up a cigarette while closing the AW/11 Louis Vuitton show, on National No-Smoking Day.
8. Shock Tactics from PETA PETA protesters walked the streets on the eve of London Fashion Week in 2012, carrying half-skinned, dead foxes like clutches, to shockingly demonstrate the brutal manufacturing of fur handbags and coats.
9. There She Goes Again Agyess Deyn toppled off her giant Burberry heels during a Haiti Relief Effort show in 2010, mimicking the show’s organiser Naomi Campbell. If that wasn’t bad enough, a few steps later she did the same thing again. Luckily Henry Holland’s BFF could see the funny side, and wisely finished the show sans shoes.
Images: Rex Features