Years are often remembered through their iconic moments, trends, controversies, and the people who made news. Here is a look back at the year 2022, through its defining moments and moment makers – one alphabet at a time. Get ready to do your ABCs!
A - Alia-Ranbir Wedding
An unexpected intimate wedding that became the talk of the town on April 14, little was known about it until the very end. Ivory and gold outfits, a home wedding and an air of mystery around it marked the union of two of the top actors in the industry. Their film Brahmastra released soon after, and they even gave birth to a baby girl Raha later in the year!
B - Bella Hadid’s Spray-on Dress
Hailed “Model of the Year”, an iconic moment in fashion was the spray-on dress Hadid donned at the Coperni Show at the Paris Fashion Week. During the Spring-Summer show held in October, she appeared wearing just underwear and heels, and had a full dress spray-painted on her, which marks a merge of peak creativity, technology and fashion. Read more about the top fashion moments of 2022 here.
Watch the making of the dress here:
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C - Clean Girl Aesthetic
A beauty trend that shifted away from the glam, and brought back freshness and dewy makeup to the fore. Smooth skin, full eyebrows, and glossy lips were highlights of this trend which was flaunted by the likes of Hailey Bieber, Gigi Hadid among others. At its core it ditched sharp contours, glittery eyeshadows, and cakey makeup looks to celebrate natural beauty.
D - Deepika at Cannes
From sarees to gowns, actor Deepika Padukone’s looks from the Cannes film Festival 2022 were the most talked about. She donned clothes and accessories by designers like Sabysachi, Louis Vuitton, and Cartier. In what was earlier only attended by top B-town celebs, this year’s festival also saw Indian fashion and beauty influencers like Masoom Minawala and Tarini Peshawaria turn heads at the event.
Watch us recreate one of her looks here:
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E - Elon Musk
Elon Musk bought Twitter and for a while afterwards, it’s all we discussed. Lay-offs, Twitter Blue, bot accounts, and several other developments kept the buzz around him alive at all times.
F - FIFA World Cup
Argentina won the cup, Messi lifted the trophy, and football fans rejoiced but what we couldn’t get enough of were the women who made news at the event. For the first time ever women referees got on the field to officiate matches. On the sidelines, the underdog team Morocco made it to the semi-finals and eventually lost out, but it was the mothers of the players who stole the show in Qatar with their unadulterated support and joy each time the team won a match in the tournament.
Watch a winning ‘aww’ moment here:
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G - Goblin Mode
The Oxford Dictionary Word of the Year, Goblin Mode basically means a state of being where you reject societal expectations, and live “in an unkempt, hedonistic manner without concern for one's self-image.” Simply put, it means embracing basic instincts, being self-indulgent, and ditching societal norms and roles. The word gained popularity as people started to return to their pre-pandemic lives, but also realised how much the pandemic-induced lockdowns, anxiety, and lifestyle modifications had changed them.
H - Hijab Row in India and in Iran
In Karnataka, India, women fought for their right to wear the hijab, in effect, fighting for their right to choice. In Iran, Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish-Iranian woman, died in custody after being detained by the police for wearing her headscarf improperly, prompting widespread women’s outrage in Iran and beyond. Although in stark contrast to each other in terms of desired outcomes, at the core of both, were women protesting oppression and fighting their right to bodily autonomy.
I - Influencers
Film promotions, big brand launches, the biggest red carpets and even coveted talk shows, influencers were everywhere. The new-age internet-savvy beauty, fashion, comedy, medicine, finance experts went above and beyond in creating their mark. They attended the Cannes Film Festival, a red carpet noted for its fashionable appearances. Kusha Kapila, Kareema Barry and others made their OTT debuts. Koffee with Karan, arguably India’s most popular celebrity talk show, saw a full episode featuring creators and influencers, namely Tanmay Bhat, Kusha Kapila, Niharika NM, and Danish Sait. Almost every beauty product launch saw influencers in attendance. Movies like Gangubai Kathiawadi and Laal Singh Chaddha were even promoted by influencers on their own social media platforms.
J - Johnny Depp and Amber Heard Trial
While we advise against washing dirty laundry in public, we sure love it when others do, as was aptly demonstrated by the several-weeks-long televised trial of actor Johnny Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard. Ended in favour of Depp, it brought forth shocking revelations of violence, abuse and torture, as the world followed every update with scrutiny. Accusations ranged from Depp allegedly saying he wanted to kill Heard during an altercation, Depp allegedly doing a “cavity search” for drugs on Heard, and graphic accounts of physical violence. Depp alleged that Heard threw alcohol bottles at him and other instances of abuse. Nothing quite like seeing heroes rapidly fall from grace, isn’t it?
K - Koffee with Karan
Topping the list of shows we love to hate but can’t get enough of was Koffee with Karan, season 7. Mostly mild compared to some of its earlier controversial seasons, it still had its fair share of noteworthy moments, namely Janhvi-Sara’s “cheese platter”, Ranveer Singh’s sex playlists, host Karan Johar being called out for his “Alia obsession”, and Samantha’s honesty about her divorce.
L - Lata Mangeshkar
On February 6, the Bharat Ratna recipient breathed her last. Popularly known as the nightingale of India, her death prompted the nation to mourn, but also reminisce about the good ol’ days of Hindi cinema and its music. Mangeshkar had started singing at an early age, having recorded her first song at age 13. Over her career spanning eight decades, she sang and recorded over 50,000 songs in 14 Indian languages, a feat that even created a Guiness World Record. She won four Filmfare Awards and several National awards too.
In February 2022, we also lost Bappi Lahiri, a noteworthy singer best known for bringing Disco to our shores.
M - Marilyn Monroe’s Iconic Dress Worn by Kim Kardashian
Kim Kardashion generated quite the buzz when she wore Marilyn Mondroe’s iconic “Happy Birthday Mr. President” dress to the Met Gala 2022. While it’s quite a fashion moment, she was also criticised for tampering with pieces of fashion steeped in history, and setting crazy weight loss standards. Apparently she lost 16 pounds just to fit into the dress and admitted to “every last thing that I can to try to make this happen.”
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N - “Nepo-kids”
Janhvi Kapoor, Sara Ali Khan, Ranbir Kapoor to Shanaya Kapoor and Suzanne Khan, “nepo-babies” made headlines throughout the year. From movies, debuts, big releases, affairs and more, they proved that they're here to stay, regardless of how many times the nepotism debate is carried out. Before the year ended, in December, Hollywood seemed to wake up to the ‘nepo-baby’ concept as well, with a New York Magazine edition outlining how 2022 was the year of the nepo-baby in Hollywood.
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O - OTT Dominates
2022 saw the continued rise of OTT platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstar and others, with films and shows releasing on them often becoming far more popular than those releasing on the big screen. Stellar star casts featured in films like Darlings, Gehraiyaan, and Monica, O My Darling. Some others like The Fame Game became debut vehicles of Bollywood actresses like Madhuri Dixit. While some others like Masaba Masaba and Mismatched were sequels to previously loved series, and they delivered this time around too.
P - Paper Magazine’s Photoshoot with Ranveer Singh
Baring it all, Ranveer Singh turned heads as well stirred some feathers when he posed naked for the Paper Magazine. Multiple complaints and FIRs followed, and it was all that we talked about for a while. It wasn’t the first time Singh turned heads for his quirky, offbeat choices, given his continuing explorations of gender-fluid, experimental fashion.
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Q - Queen Dies
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch, died 'peacefully' on September 8, 2022, at Balmoral in the United Kingdom.
Soon after her death, netizens flooded social media with renewed demands for the UK to send back the Kohinoor.
The Royal Family remained the limelight through the year, with the fifth season of popular netflix show The Crown releasing in November and ‘Harry & Meghan’ releasing in December.
R - RRR
Recently, IMDb published a list of the 10 most-watched Indian films in 2022, and it was Ram Charan-Jr NTR's 'RRR' that took the top spot. It was not only a super success in India but also in the USA, where it re-released in some theatres. 2022 was also marked by a sharp rise in South Indian films winning at the box office and simultaneously winning audiences’ hearts.
S - Situationships
It’s not a relationship but it’s more than a friendship: introducing “situationships”, the grey area of maybes and could-bes that was the buzzword of dating in 2022. It’s a casual relationship, but it’s well-defined, meaning people were having relationship issues without even being in one. It’s label-free, it’s complicated, and it defined ‘modern love’ as we knew it.
T - Two-finger test ban
In October 2022, as the Supreme Court banned the controversial two-finger test in rape cases, calling it “patriarchal, sexist & unscientific.” There was emphasis laid on the fact that the test re-traumatises victims, and is also based on the unrealistic assumption that sexually active women don’t get raped. The year also saw some other judgments in favour of women, namely mothers getting the right to decide the surname of a child and unmarried women getting rights to safe and legal abortions.
Don't miss: Year Ender 2022: 5 Orders By The SC Favouring Women That Restore Our Faith In Judiciary
U - Urfi Javed
Paparazzi's darling, Urfi Javed brought boldness, fun, creativity, and DIY back to fashion. Love her or hate her, you cannot ignore this latest It-girl on the block who turned heads for her outfits that ranged from safety pin dresses to cut out gowns. She even made her BiggBoss debut this year and never shied away from shutting down trolls.
V - Valentino Pink
Valentino Pink, or what we’ve always known it as, Rani Pink became quite the colour of the season towards the end of the year! Heels, pants, suits – celebrities took on the trend and flaunted this loud pink shade that screams OTT.
W - Will Smith Slaps Chris Rock
The highlight moment of Oscars 2022 wasn’t the show, awards, or movies, but actor Will Smith slapping Chris Rock after the latter joked about the former’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith. It left the internet divided about who it wants to support, with some arguing that the joke was in terrible taste, while others saying that nothing really justifies violence as a retaliation.
X - eXtended Reality
Tech innovations soared, and people started to explore the metaverse in a fascinating way. In February, India even saw its first metaverse wedding, complete with 500 guests! More people hopped onto the NFT bandwagon. However, with government regulations dampening the market spirit, cryptocurrency start-ups shrank by 75 percent in 2022.
Y – Y2K Fashion
For the uninitiated, Y2K was a computer bug that plagued saving data post year 2000, but in the world of fashion, Y2K refers to 2000s fashion trends, which in the West is popularly known as “everything Britney” but closer home, finds familiarity in Poo or Kareena Kapoor’s style from the movie Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. 2022 saw the comeback of flared bottoms, bell-bottom jeans, tinted sunglasses, bustier tops, and baguettes. In a nutshell, the aesthetic was fun, playful and easily accessible.
Z - Zest
2022 was the year we tried and mostly managed to return to some semblance of normalcy after the pandemic. Offices opened up, public spaces were open again and travel restrictions were lifted. A never-seen-before zest for life was evident among most of us, striving to make the most of it and live life to the fullest.
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