For anyone who’s involved in the fashion industry, designers, models, stylists, photographers, celebrities, bloggers, magazine representatives and fashion enthusiasts, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week sits at the top of the food chain of fashion. Mercedes-Benz holds fashion week twice a year in global fashion capitals New York, Paris, London and Milan for renowned designers to showcase fall and spring lines.
Both the show in New York complete and the one in Paris is still underway, it’s difficult to determine which is more talked about—the faces or the fashion. The best looks are completed with the famous faces of young catwalk veteran Karlie Kloss and British Fashion Awards Model of the Year Cara Delevingne.
Delevingne, who is 20 years old and was originally signed by the same scouter who spotted the legendary Kate Moss, is taking the fashion world by storm. Delevingne is the face of DKNY, and was chosen as the face of the new Burberry fragrance. Delevingne walked for lines by Derek Lam, DKNY, Diane von Furstenberg and Tommy Hilfiger in just one day and is already booked for future shows. The runway is a familiar place for her after being an angel in the November Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.
Kloss, who is also 20 years old, ranked second on the Top 50 list by Models.com. Landing huge designers and major campaigns are always easy tasks for the tall beauty, but she is most famous for her effortless runway strut, dubbed the “moody gait.” Kloss earned the opening position for Oscar de la Renta in a color-blocking spring trend and closed in a signature couture gown.
New York Fashion Week gave a glimpse of what trends will be posted in magazines and replicated in stores—the most important being stripes and primary colors used toward a ‘60s edge that debuted on the runway. Marc Jacobs and Michael Kors couldn’t get enough of the ‘60s this year; both designers used bold basic red, blue and green paired with black-and-white stripes on their A-line and miniskirt silhouettes.
If bold horizontal stripes aren’t your thing (it’s common knowledge that the only person horizontal stripes are flattering on is a 6-foot-tall-size-0 runway model) you can always opt for geometric patterns and checkerboard prints are also having a moment this season, which Alexander Wang and Calvin Klein used geometric patterns on their models, opting for a sleek modern theme for their shows. They, among others such as Rag & Bone, Carolina Herrera and BCBG Max Azria, were huge on black and white this season.
There’s just something about European fashion that is always one step ahead of U.S. designers. In Paris, Lanvin brought back the feminine tuxedo and strong-cut silhouettes with only a few slight pops of silky dark colors. Karl Lagerfeld created an updated look of Chanel’s classics, using wreathes of oversized pearls around the models necks, uniquely cut classic tweed coats and even a 2013 version of the denim dress worn by runway superstar Delevingne.
If you’re looking to update your wardrobe this year, keep an eye out for bold, solid colors and try to incorporate them into looks you’d see in the ‘60s. Wear a cute black A-Line dress with a pair of Mary Jane heels, such as Delevingne in the Lanvin show. Model after the Marc Jacobs show and look out for stripes of all colors and sizes. If keeping up with runway trends is too much of a hassle, there is one timeless trend we’ve learned from fashion week: You can never go wrong by adding classic black and white pieces to your closet.
