Europe's Fashion Weeks have come to a close for Fall 2012, and Paris ended on a high note with some unconventional eye makeup looks. Ornate eyebrows at Chanel, bright mascara from Stella McCartney, and illustrated eyeliner at Miu Miu were among the runway highlights. See the boldest looks — watch now!
Paris Fashion Week just wrapped up, marking an end to the fashion month festivities. Before bidding adieu to the gorgeous runway collections, we compiled all of the top trends we spotted on the runway. Designers like Yves Saint Laurent, Vanessa Bruno, and Chanel showed gorgeous metallic knits, while Balenciaga and Kanye West focused on the future. Want to get the complete Paris Fashion Week trend report? Just click the slideshow to see the top 10 burgeoning trends on the runway right now.
Elie Saab showed a wide range of daywear and a beautiful bevy of red-carpet gowns for Fall 2012. With models clad in long hair and blunt bangs, the show kicked off with a multitude of ladylike skirt suits, loose-cut trousers, and fur coats. Casual dresses followed suit, highlighting a range of form-fitting colorblocked sheath dresses to diaphanous sheer printed renditions. However, it was the eveningwear portion of the collection that really caught our attention. Saab showed his expertise in details with a gorgeous array of sequined and metallic gowns. There were also a few sheer gowns showcasing a delicate cobweb lace detail. Which Hollywood leading lady can you picture wearing one of these amazing gowns? More details from Elie Saab's Fall 2012 collection below.
>> While Elie Saab's Fall 2012 lineup of day wear was plenty chic, it was his knockout evening wear that really stole the show.
>> Miuccia Prada is having a trousers moment. Today's Fall 2012 Miu Miu collection was chock-full of them, and earlier this month they dominated her collection for Prada as well. In fact, the designer is so into pants this season that she told WWD they were "the only thing exciting" to her currently.
She certainly has found some interesting ways to work them. The pants on offer at Miu Miu were jauntier and more playful than the ones on display at Prada and came in a jumble of shimmering jewel tones and supersized patterns. These were more mannish, too, cut wide down the knee and cropped at the ankle. Paired with matching '70s-style sportscoats and loudly patterned blouses, the look was chic in a nerdy-kitsch, leisure-suit way.
>> Marc Jacobs's Fall 2012 collection for Louis Vuitton read like a love letter to the house's storied travel-luggage origins — right down to the real live steam engine that barreled down the runway at the start of the show. There were porters to carry the models' bags, and some of the clothes were even stitched in a checkerboard pattern reminiscent of the iconic "damier" that covers Vuitton trunks.
As for the collection, it was ornate and luxuriously detailed: giant jeweled brooches served as the buttons for coats, and sparkling appliques adorned lurex-threaded brocades that had been made by hand. The silhouettes had "a turn of the century feel, but with bits of the 1960s and 1970s," Jacobs explained. "We wanted to attenuate the height, so we started with the hats [by Stephen Jones] and then worked with a high waist, and a gentle flare just at the ankle."
Watch the video of the show below, courtesy of Telegraph UK.
Stefano Pilati's Fall collection was edgy and dark, with leather gracing everything from tuxedo lapels, to tops, to trousers — which Stefano teamed with luxe fur trim, large prints, and cinched waists. Ladylike silhouettes like pencil skirts and shift dresses were made out of chain mail, toughening up traditionally feminine pieces — and of course, it wouldn't be a YSL runway without a Le Smoking jacket or two. After watching the show, read our editors' full review.
If you want real romance, look no further than Valentino's Fall 2012 collection. Creative directors Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli designed an impeccably gorgeous lineup of gowns, jumpsuits, and coats that — for lack of something less cliché to say — swept us off our feet. Picking up right where it left off after Spring '12, Valentino honed in on the ultrafeminine details, neutral color palette aside. Floor-skimming dresses were updated with panels of refined leather, sheer Victorian lace bodices and sleeves, and some were even artfully covered in glitter. Whether the pieces were endowed with rich tapestry embroidery, metallic floral embellishments, or a sweet collar bow tie, it all worked towards one well-defined theme of pretty elegance. Of course, no Valentino collection is complete without its signature red creations, and the Fall offerings didn't disappoint. We were particularly enamored with the cherry-hue frock adorned with scalloped edges and paired with matching red ankle-strap sandals. For more details, just keep reading.
>> For Fall 2012 Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld went glitter-studded, sparkle-emblazoned, and mineral-inspired — right down to the Lucite shoes and the crystal-adorned runway. But despite all the embellishment and shimmer, the selection felt focused and surprisingly downtown: oversize coats, patterned knits, and artfully-draped dresses were layered over ankle-cropped cigarette pants — which, incidentally, appeared on nearly every look.
For Carven's Fall 2012 runway show, designer Guillaume Henry turned out models in cheeky Peter Pan collars, playful pinafore dresses, and head-to-toe tapestry prints. Key-hole slits updated basic dress silhouettes, and intriguing cutouts covered everything from tops to skirts, even jackets. We can't get enough of this quirky collection; watch on to see the entire show.
