Paris Haute Couture: Spring/Summer 2013.

Couture Fashion Week- an opportunity for designers to tap into the most extravagant and outlandish of fashion fantasies kicked off to a great start. Dior and Chanel drew inspiration from the garden with flowers and leaves. Giorgio Armani drew inspiration from Turkey and Jean Paul Gaultier went to Morocco. These are the trends Paris Haute Couture had to offer for Spring/Summer 2013.

Off The Shoulder. Dresses descended like trapeze shapes and columns from bare shoulders for Dior, Georges Hobeika, Maison Martin Margiela and Alexis Mabille.

From L-R: Armani Prive, Elie Saab Christian Dior and Giambattista Valli

Midi Lengths. It was an exploration of midi lengths on elegant and structural dresses for Elie Saab, Giambattista Valli, Armani Prive and Valentino.

From L-R: Armani Prive, Christian Dior, Chanel and Giambattista Valli

Capes. Cascading off shoulders and trailing at the back, long capes gave a modern twist to evening wear at Valentino, Chanel, Bouchra Jarrar and Ulyana Sergeenko.

From L-R: Zuhair Murad, Valentino, Stephane Rolland and Elie Saab

Cropped Pants.  A trend that is still going strong in Paris, cropped pants featured strongly on menswear inspired collections from Christian Dior, Armani Prive, Alexandre Vauthier and Stephane Rolland.

From L-R: Alecandre Vauthier, Armani Prive, Versace Atelier and Georges Chakra

 Embroidery. Exquisite embroidery at Elie Saab, Alexis Mabille, Jean Paul Gaultier and Maison Martin Margiela portrayed flowers and blooms splayed out on dresses, crawling up a sleeve and hugging hemlines on skirts and dresses.

From L-R: Elie Saab, Christian Dior, Armani Prive and Valentino

Embellishment. Gem, sequins and mosaic encrusted dresses had a luminous and glamorous effect at Versace, Zuhair Murad, Elie Saab and Maison Martin Margiela.

From L-R: Versace Atelier, Valentino, Georges Chakra and Elie Saab

Voluminous Bottoms. Giambattista Valli, Chanel, Ulyana Segeenko and Dior gave definition to waists through volume build up at the bottom for the most romantic of ball gowns.

From L-R: Elie Saab, Christian Dior, Giambattista Valli and Armani Prive

Cinched Waists. Nipped and cinched in, Jean Paul Gaultier, Valli and Nicholas Oakwell played up the emphasis on waists with bold and colourful belts.

From L-R: Dany Atrache, Chanel, Alexis Mabille and Jean Paul Gaultier

Lace. Lace transparency sensually skimmed bodies at Valentino, Zuhair Murad, Alexis Mabille and Dior.

From L-R: Elie Saab, Valentino, Stephane Rolland and Alexandre Vauthier

Babydoll Dresses.  Couture brought back to the runway frothy baby doll dresses from Giambattista Valli, Versace Atelier, Elie Saab and Valentino.

From L-R: Valentino, Christophe Josse, Giambattista Valli and Versace Atelier.

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The People’s Choice Awards 2013.

The People’s Choice Awards hosted by Kaley Cuoco recently took place and brought with them a few unexpected surprises on the red carpet- Jennifer Aniston and Naomi Watts. Considering the relaxed feel of the awards, there was a slew of floor length gowns and sexy styles out on the red carpet.

 All White. It is no secret that everyone looks good in this classic monotone. Taylor Swift went sexy in a floor length white gown with a plunging neckline, Morena Baccarin in an all white off the shoulder jumpsuit while Ellen Pompeo and Regina King decided to break the monotony of their white dresses with touches of black.

From L-R: Morena Baccarin, Nikki Deloach, Ellen Pompeo, Regina King and Taylor Swift

 
Black. Perenially chic - black accented with sequins, a pop of colour and fringe from Heidi Klum, Sandra Bullock and made for an elegant red carpet.

From L-R: Jennifer Lawrence, Heidi Klum, Jillian Rose Reed, Erinn Hayes and Sandra Bullock

Color. Brighter shades stood out on the red carpet in the form of Lea Michele, Rachel Leigh Cook, Chloe Grace Moretz amongst others.

From L-R: Rachel Leigh Cook, Shay Mitchel, Chloe Grace Moretz, Lea Michele and Brittany Snow

Embellishment. Naomi Watts shimmered in gold and black as  Rumer Willis sparkled in black and silver while Kaley Cuoco turned out in a feather embellished number.

From L-R: Kaley Cuoco, Naomi Watts, Rumer Willis, Julianne Hough and Kristin Kreuk.

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Pre-Fall 2013-2014

Pre-fall collections bridge the gap between Autumn/Winter and Spring/Summer as they are a forecast of trends to come in the major Fashion Week shows. They can take place at any location and usually presented on static models rather than a catwalk.
Here are some of the trends to watch out for in pre-fall Autumn/Winter 2013-2014.
Fur. An easy way to make anything glamorous, fur and fur trimmed ensembles were abundant in the pre-fall collections of Belstaff, Burberry, Vera Wang and Thakoon.

Belstaff pre-fall 2013-14

Baroque. This rich but luxurious fabric hit its way onto the forefront at Versace, Belstaff, Michael Kors and Reed Krakoff.

Michael Kors Pre-Fall 2013-14

Leather. Rich and tan, leather in all its suppleness made its way onto Reed Krakoff, 3.1 Philip Lim, Chanel, Michael Korrs and Burberry for their pre-fall 2013-2014 collections.

Burberry Pre-Fall 2013-14

Embellishment. Sequins, Crystals and glitter polished pre-fall collections for Naem Khan, Parabal Gurung, Oscar De La Renta and Monique Lhuillier.

Oscar De La Renta Pre-Fall 2013-14

Hats. Hats topped off tomboy inspired chic collections at Rachel Zoe, Temperley, Alexander Wang and Opening Ceremony.

Temperley Pre-Fall 2013-14

Stripes. From horizontal to zigzag, Jason Wu, Burberry, Diane Von Furstenberg, Alice + Olivia made it a striped affair in their pre-fall 2013-14 collections.

Jason Wu Pre-Fall 2013-14

Lace. Delicate lace with luxurious embroidery wove its way onto pre-fall 2013-2014 ensembles from Diane Von Furstenberg, Chanel, Vera Wang and Monique Lhuillier.

Diane Von Furstenberg Pre-Fall 2013-14

Knits. Soft and luxurious chunky knits made dresses, sweaters at Gucci, Temperley, Chanel and Missoni. 

Missoni Pre-Fall 2013-14

Belts. Waists were cinched at Calvin Klein, Diane Von Furstenburg, Gucci and Temperley for their pre-fall 2013-2014 collections.

Parabal Gurung Pre-Fall 2013-14

Prints. 3.1 Philip Lim, Gucci, Timo Weilland and Rachel Zoe took to the jungle for some of their animal print inspired pre-fall 2013-14 collections.

Gucci Pre-Fall 2013-14

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