Top 42 Outrageous Fashion Shows (SUPER GALLERY)

As an editor of Trend Hunter, I’ve made a lot of wild discoveries. In the fashion field, in particular, it’s amused me to see the different ways in which designers stage their creativity on the runways.

This gallery highlights some of the top live fashion moments, from ground-breaking venues like the Fendi show which took place on the Great Wall of China, to controversial models which have included seniors and real gypsies, to holographic fashion shows.

Allow the following cluster of fashion inspiration to remind you that there are no limits to creativity.

Innovative Set Designs & Stages

Fashion Show in the Desert - Pierre Cardin in Dunhuang Desert (GALLERY)

The Catwalks are always a great show, and it seems each season, they become more spectacular than the last. Earlier this week we featured Fendi’s show on the Great Wall of China, and now we’re seeing Pierre… [More]

1,500 Mile Runway - Great Wall Of China Fendi Show (Update) (VIDEO)

Yesterday we were thrilled to feature Karl Lagerfeld’s elaborate fashion show for Fendi which took place on the Great Wall of China. Our anticipation was already up, as Trend Hunter had been following… [More]

Hi-Def Hologram Fashion Show (Follow-up) - Target Defines Future of Runways (VIDEO)

New York’s Grand Terminal was transformed into a virtual fashion stage last November 6th and 7th.  Using hi-def video projection featuring headless models, Target gave commuters a sneak preview of its… [More]

Holographic Fashion Show - Diesel’s Fashion Show Adds New Dimension (VIDEO)

Giant aquatic creatures from the deep, snaking robots made from watches and one man submarines were among many other things never before seen on the catwalk, that stunned the audience in Florence, Italy… [More]

Naked Showers on the Runway - Rosa Chá SS 2009 (VIDEO)

Rosa Chá’s first ever men’s show opened with male model Rodrigo Rothen showering naked on the catwalk. What a way to start your runway show! While the shower scene has been done before (by Dean and Dan… [More]

Airport Tarmac Turned Catwalk - Berlin Fashion Week 2008 (VIDEO)

The HUGO by Hugo Boss show made quite an impression at Berlin Fashion Week on Sunday as it took off on the tarmac runways, creating a very surprising setting. The Tempelhof Airport runways were transformed… [More]

Sliding Catwalks – Neon Makes Strutting Even Harder (VIDEO)

Massive gloves, rockin’ bathing suits and heart-shaped glasses skid across the catwalk for Neon’s fall/winter 2008 show. Models may have had a harder time balancing even though stilettos were replaced… [More]

Edible Runways - Etro’s Farm Fresh Fashion (VIDEO)

We’ve featured green walls, inside and out, even green roofs, green dog houses and living interior designs. Etro, always on the cutting edge of style, realized the popularity of covering surfaces in live… [More]

Wet is the New Dry - D&G;and Alexander McQueen Get Wet on the Runway (VIDEO)

Fashion designers around the world, including Alexander McQueen and Dolce & Gabbana, have taken to the wet look. By utilizing liquid shine finishes and other techniques, the new trend offers a refreshing… [More]

Celebrity Fashion Car Show - The GM Style Event at NAIAS (GALLERY)

In our interviews with top designers at GM and Ferrari, we’ve learned that the auto industry is looking closely at the fashion industry as a source of inspiration.  As this link becomes more significant,… [More]

Offbeat Model Choices

Seniors on the Catwalk - Yohji Yamamoto’s Paris Runway (GALLERY)

This seems to be the season of unlikely runway models. Recently, Vivienne Westwood caused an uproar when she sent out beefy, tough-looking Roma gypsies on the Milan catwalks to model her 2009 menswear.… [More]

Real Gypsies As Models - Vivienne Westwood Controversial Milan Menswear Runway (GALLERY)

Vivienne Westwood’s spring/summer 2009 menswear Milan show has sparked controversy and debate due to the designer’s decision to cast Roma gypsies as catwalk models. The models sported gold teeth and enormous… [More]

Monks on the Catwalk - A Fashion Show To Win Back Buddhist Believers (GALLERY)

As fashion fast conquers the world, even the most religious members of society are utilizing it to spread faith. In an effort to spread Buddhism among youth, as well as win back believers, Japanese monks… [More]

Prostitute Fashion Shows - “Madame #####” Parade in Madrid (VIDEO)

Runways are made to entertain, and a recent Madrid show did so with panache. The models in this fashion show weren’t your ordinary supermodels—they were real life prostitutes. No, the event wasn’t… [More]

Outrageous Fashion & Performances

Laser Dresses - Hussein Chalayan (Follow-Up) (VIDEO)

Hussein Chalayan has once again woven technology into fashion. Last October, Trend Hunter brought you the “transformer” collection by Chalayan. Now we present the looks from this year’s runway, featuring… [More]

Nazi-Inspired Designers Blitz Runways - Fashion Crimes?

Fashion designers are always looking to shock.  Earlier this year, Trend Hunter profiled Shai, the french fashion designer that used real porn to pedle fashion.  Accordingly, I’ve always feared that it… [More]

Rebel 3D Fashion Makes Statement - Viktor & Rolf ‘NO’ Show (GALLERY)

Viktor & Rolf started their Paris catwalk show with a surreal grey coat sporting an eye-popping enormous ‘NO’ slogan. The insistent “No!” was just one of a series of messages in which the creative Dutch… [More]

Over the Top Fashion - Garb That Can’t Be Serious (GALLERY)

Fashion designers have a sense of humor. They must have to create these outfits and put them on the catwalk. Or maybe the cat was the inspiration when it hocked up a hairball. At any rate, these out of… [More]

London Fashion Week Trends - Blues, Plaids, Mad Max (GALLERY)

Fashion Week in London is winding down as far as time, but not as far as the catwalks. Designers are still pushing the fabric, and blue is prominent as well as plaids. I love the plaid eye patch and can… [More]

Return of Heroin Chic - Vivienne Westwood Red Label (GALLERY)

While at first glance this may look like an angry animal rights activist protesting fur on the runway, this is actually a model from Vivienne Westwood’s Fall 2008 show. Part of the British designer’s… [More]

Mankinis on the Catwalk - Alexander McQueen’s Borat Inspiration (GALLERY)

Who would have thought that Borat’s infamous man-bikini would influence high fashion designers such as Alexander McQueen? The British designer debuted his version of the skimpy one-piece swimsuit during… [More]

Crash Helmet Fashion - Avakian Puts Darth Vader on the Runway (GALLERY)

Although we’ve seen fashion helmets on Trend Hunter before, I didn’t know we’d be seeing them again this soon, and definitely not on an international catwalk! Featured at Australian Fashion Week in Sydney… [More]

Furry Couture - Rabbit Theme at Japan Fashion Week (GALLERY)

Tokyo is recognized as an international fashion capital, but the Japanese are also known for an affinity for all things cute. A combination of the two was evident at Tokyo Fashion Week earlier this month… [More]

Pirates Commandeer Parisian Runway - Jean Paul Gaultier SS 2008 (GALLERY)

In the spring we featured an article on the dominance of pirate- and nautical- inspired fashions. Today, we have photos fresh off Jean Paul Gaultier’s runway, where again, the pirate look dominated the… [More]

Fantasy Fashion For Charity - Agent Provocateur at Life Ball 2008 (GALLERY)

They surely weren’t the typical Victoria’s Secret angels strutting on the catwalk of Life Ball 2008. Agent Provocateur tested the limits of how much eroticism the attendees could take without self-combusting… [More]

Savage Style - Jean Paul Gaultier’s Animalistic Fall 2008 (VIDEO)

Oh, animal skins! What some will do fur the love of fashion! For his recent Paris Fashion Week show, Jean Paul Gaultier unleashed his wilder side as he showed a line of fashion line laden with animal pelts… [More]

Medieval Fashion - Stella McCartney A/W 2008 (VIDEO)

Good Sir, may you look to you for some fashion inspiration? It seems Stella McCartney sought inspiration from her Fall 2008 collection from King Arthur’s days. The medieval inspiration was clear at Paris… [More]

Witch Fashion - Luella Fall 2008 (GALLERY)

Halloween is a big part of autumn for many people, but has the marketing become so influential on our society that a designer can design a ready to wear collection inspired by it? Luella marched model… [More]

Plaid Street Fashion - Preppy Punk at House of Holland (Fall 2008) (GALLERY)

House of Holland had a really cool collection last season of which we featured the Model Attack Shirts. They’ve just shown their latest line at London Fashion Week, and the Fall 2008 pieces they showed… [More]

Elizabethan Fashion for Men - John Galliano Fall 2008 (GALLERY)

These designs were shown on the Parisian runways on January 18th during Paris Fashion Week. In a stark contrast to the couture part of the fall 2008 collection from John Galliano, these outfits are astonishingly… [More]

Androgynous Gypsy Fashion - Gucci Fall 2008 Collection in Milan (GALLERY)

Androgynous male models with eyes lined in black took the runways at Milan Fashion Week to show off Gucci’s Fall 2008 Collection which was designed by Frida Giannini. From a London blue topaz velvet suit… [More]

Rubbish Runway Collection - Avsh Alom Gur Makes Zoolander’s Derelict a Reality (GALLERY)

London-based fashion designer Avsh Alom Gur had been collecting rubbish from the London streets to turn them into a gorgeous Spring/Summer 2008 Collection in the London Fashion Week. Constructed between… [More]

Avian Influences - Alexander McQueen Spring 2008 (GALLERY)

Birds have been influencing fashion this season, as was made evident again by Alexander McQueen’s runway show in Paris today. From bird-of-paradise silhouettes to wing-like capes and feathered details,… [More]

Ghoulish Fall Fashion - Drape Yourself In Body Parts (VIDEO)

OK, this is just creepy. Hallowe’en is still two months away (only?!?) so there’s no excuse to be parading such goulish outfits down a runway. This new “fashion” is all about draping yourself with fake… [More]

Anti-Bacterial Dress Prevents Cold and Flu

The anti-bacterial dress is a collaboration between a student designer and fiber scientists. The two-toned gold dress and metallic denim jacket were a big hit on the runway at Cornell’s Design League Fashion… [More]

Monster Fashion - Cibeles Runway Full of Models With Bizarre Looks (GALLERY)

A new wave of bizarre looks seems to be the path to getting international attention.  These shocking photos are from the runway Cibeles in Spain this week… telling “kitsch” story is the source of inspiration… [More]

Pet Fashion Shows

Pets on the Runway - New Year Dog Party in Tokyo (GALLERY)

If it’s become almost main-stream to dress dogs in human-inspired fashions, then why not host a fashion show for them? In 2007, we saw Pet Fashion Week take place in New York, but this weekend, Tokyo held… [More]

Pet Fashion Week Hits New York - NYC Doggy Style (VIDEO)

Those concerned with keeping their pet on the cutting edge of fashion knew New York was the place to go this season! At the 2007 annual Pet Fashion Week, cats and dogs paraded down runway, their tales… [More]

Duck Fashion Show - Sydney Loves Quacks (VIDEO)

Some fashion shows quack me up. In Sydney they feature a fest of webbed feet for a wonderful fete. No ugly ducks here, they are all dressed to kill. Don’t ask for the bill, however. Some ducks prefer to… [More]

Other

Top 7 Global Views on Skinny Models - Beijing Wants Thin & Tall Olympic Reps Only (SUPER GALLERY)

Next summer’s Olympic games just won’t stop stirring up controversy. Beijing is seeking out female representatives for next years games, but let the public know that unless you’re tall and thin, you needn’t… [More]

Phone Tech Transforms Fashion Week - Nokia 6131 NFC (VIDEO)

A few key players in the mobile phone world are using at London Fashion Week, which is currently running, as an opportune venue to test drive some innovative new technologies like NFC’s Instant Fashion… [More]

Top 5 Runway Falls - Models That Bail (VIDEO)

Walking around in sky-high stilletos while the world’s most judgmental fashion critics are watching is no easy feat. New York Magazine compiled a list of the “Top 5 Runway Falls,” with photos and videos… [More]