Things that dazzled in 2023

You could blame the pandemic for the fashion pause it induced upon us, but there really cannot be an excuse for wearing sweatpants in public. For all the highs and lows 2023 has brought on, its most impressive achievement was putting some good, old-fashioned glamour back in our wardrobes.

- NAMRATA ZAKARIA

The year began with Louis Vuitton’s newest global brand ambassador, our very own Deepika Padukone, presenting at the Academy Awards. Dressed in an off-shoulder velvet gown, her now-famous smoke-eyed makeup, and gently tousled hair, Padukone shone introducing “a banger” of a song that RRR’s ‘Naatu Naatu’ was. Despite looking like she could belong anywhere in the world—from South Asia to the Middle East to South America—Padukone’s confidence was buoyed courtesy her distinctly Indian accent. All the mamas rolling their Rs to please an American audience took notes, and then faded away into oblivion.