3-Minute Read: Everything You Need to Know About NYFW

New York Fashion Week is officially (finally?) over. It is beyond any one person’s abilities as a human to remember every show, trend, pop culture moment, and street style phenomenon that went down in the Big Apple over the past several days, and to be honest, no one expects you to. In fact, there are only a few key events you need to know to get you through the chaotic jumble of information. Whether what you want is an informed conversation to impress your know-it-all friends, where you can name-drop Josep Font and Millie Bobby Brown without blinking an eye, or a one-stop shop where you can digest the difference between the earrings at Altuzarra from the ones at Rodarte, look no further.

Here, we present you with our NYFW “superlatives.” Through the illustrations of the beyond talented Ellie Benuska—a woman we all have the pleasure of working with here at Who What Wear and who casually creates these incredible illustrations on the side—we are excited to share with you the moments that we think ruled supreme this fashion week. From the controversial topics that had everyone murmuring to the spring trends we are most excited for, get ready to click through our illustrated guide to the most important events at NYFW.

Keep reading to learn about everything you need to know from NYFW!

Instead of dumping even more Yeezy Season 4 opinions on you, we will give you some general talking points on the show that left us speechless but simultaneously unable to stop talking. Here is your comprehensive list:

1. The fainting models on the grass

2. The Kardashian-Jenner grand entrance

3. The “multicultural women only” model casting

4. The clear thigh-high boots

5. The busses people had to take to get there

6. How hot it was outside

7. How late it started

Gigi Hadid and Tommy Hilfiger collaborated to create a special collection that was festively nautical. The runway show was located outdoors on an appropriately decorated pier, and Gigi’s look in the show was nothing short of iconic. Chances are if you have an Instagram account, you saw this look at least once while scrolling through your feed.

This season, some of the leading designers in the industry accessorized their runway looks with earrings that were too striking to miss. From Altuzarra’s (pictured above) swirly hoops to Delpozo’s collarbone-grazing beaded confections, Rodarte’s golden dripping floral chains to Proenza’s deconstructed wishbone-shaped danglers, all we have to say is this: One, two, three’s a trend.

Pernille Teisbaek was the one to watch this week, just as she has been in fashion weeks past. She is always primed to set trends, combine the unexpected, and push boundaries like none other. Take this look, for example. Would you ever think to pair a red-and-white printed dress with candy cane–striped tights, big white sunglasses, and sneakers? Or what about a graphic T-shirt underneath a floral-print V-neck wrap dress? I think we’ve made our point.

For the first time in her career, Bella Hadid walked in the DKNY show. Not only did she walk in it, but she also opened it, leading the pack of It-girl models down the runway in a streetwear look that only she could pull off. The way she owned that opening look in the show, the plunging hooded sweatshirt, and thigh-high sneaker boots proved to the fashion community that Bella Hadid is here for the long haul.

The Proenza Schouler show delivered fashion eye candy, period. The runway was a sweeping blur of color-block knit dresses and miscellaneous cutouts aplenty—and can we talk about the long-sleeve graphic shirt tied around the waist of a furry coat? Genius. The color palette was limited to red, blue, yellow, orange, black, and white, but the combination of the hues amid the patterns and shapes is what really dazzled here.

There were definite moments during the scorching heat wave that was NYFW where guests thought to themselves, I would kill to be at the beach right now. Rosie Assoulin apparently heard those internal monologues and responded, If the beach is what they want, the beach is what they will get! And it will be a magical beach. Where the sand is made of styrofoam peanuts, and where rainbow umbrellas will be worn as matching sets, and where no one leaves without their pockets overflowing with saltwater taffy. Sounds like a dream world, right? And in essence, it was, because by today’s definition, a dream world is an Instagrammable world.

Sitting right there in the front row (between Emma Roberts and Chloë Grace Moretz) at the Coach S/S 17 runway show were Winona Ryder and Millie Bobby Brown from the buzzy Netflix show Stranger Things. Seeing the pair gave us so many feelings, and if you weren’t feeling them alongside us, it’s time you begin watching the series. Maybe it was the fact that we are in love with their characters, or maybe it was because it was unexpected (no?) to see them at a runway show. Either way, it definitely was a celebrity moment worth noting.

Related: The Latest Street Style From New York Fashion Week

Ain’t no runway like a Victoria’s Secret runway, am I right? Except this time, they were not stomping down the runway in teeny-tiny bikinis—they were wearing the inventive new wave of sportswear for the DKNY show, and they made it look so, so good. After the runway, this shot was taken of the gang, and, well, the picture really says it all: #SQUADGOALS.

During fashion week, the streets are just as much of a runway as the actual runways are, and it’s here that a majority of the trends we know and definitely copy are born. This year, there was no denying the fact that straw bags were everywhere. This quaint accessory managed to coexist with any look under the sun, as it added just the right amount of texture and wit and was equally exciting to gawk at as the plethora of Gucci bags we saw alongside them.

Thanks to The Devil Wears Prada, specifically Miranda Priestly, florals for spring will always be followed by a snarky grin or an overly dramatic eye roll. Rodarte, however, presented florals in a way that had absolutely no one remembering Priestly’s pompous comment. When you design asymmetrical gold honeysuckle earrings, place floral appliqués atop delicately dotted tulle, and completely cover a dress in an array of sequin lilacs, you officially win the rights to “groundbreaker.”

Whether it was white boots or white sunglasses, the stylish humans of New York City proved white accessories are where it’s at. Pernille Teisbaek made a case for the trend by wearing it all week long, and street style photographers finalized the trend by highlighting it all week long.

And we mean this quite literally. The Marc Jacobs show was basically a huge rave, filled with the chicest rave outfits we’ve ever seen, no doubt. Although we aren’t sure which left us more puzzled—seeing Kendall and Gigi in pastel-colored dreadlocks or wondering how not one model fell (or started break-dancing, as Bella Hadid calls it) while walking in those giant platforms—we know one thing for sure: Marc Jacobs knows how to throw a party. And thankfully, this show left everyone stimulated enough to feel satisfied with the official ending of NYFW.

Want more fashion week coverage? Here’s everything you need to know about the spring runway shows, and be sure to shop the freshest street style trends.