By Charlotte Sutherland-Hawes
From New York to Paris, via London and Milan, Fashion Week has been making its path for the past four weeks, and as designers presented beautiful collections full of covetable pieces, new style directions appeared on the horizon for Fall/Winter 2014-2015. With proceedings now at a close, we review the emerging beauty trends in each city, from the textural hair in Milan, to the sparkle of New York, natural tones in London and graphic eyeliner seen in Paris.
Fashion Week recap: Autumn/Winter 2014-2015 beauty trends
New York(01 of04)
Starting off the four-week fashion adventure, New York presented the first of Autumn/Winter's emerging trends on the beauty front. Rag & Bone chose a flick of deep black eyeliner, harking back to Sixties style, while at Donna Karan and Derek Lam, eyes were lined on top and below with metallic grey, as the former designer drew inspiration from the city's landscape and colours. Michael Kors and Diane von Furstenberg chose a more natural look, with Kors' girls displaying all-American sun kissed cheeks, and Furstenberg's models pretty in pink, from eyelids to cheeks and lips. Rodarte picked up the rosy tone too, adding some serious sparkle for a futuristic, stand-out lip. The design duo wanted the girls to look like princesses, adding long, flowing locks to the glitter lip, a tendril of which was pinned back with an embellished clip. In a stark contrast to the girlie girls, over in Brooklyn, Alexander Wang brought back the side fringe, sweeping hair across models' faces and leaving the rest gathered at the back, with skin natural. The austere look worked perfectly with Wang's modern offering.
London(02 of04)
Three main trends were spotted during London Fashion Week: purple shading, slick hair and black lined eyes. At Burberry and J.W. Anderson, aubergine tones were key, seen shaded on eyes and smudged on lips. Wendy Rowe created a soft, feminine look for Christopher Bailey, that saw Bloomsbury girls with subtly colour-washed eyelids and lips, while J.W. Anderson opted for a saccharine shadow around eyes and berry stained lips. Christopher Kane picked up the natural thread of the Burberry look, adding messy hair with a wet-look effect, as if his muse had been caught in the London rain. The wet look was seen again at Peter Pilotto, where high-shine hair was slicked down smooth, giving a streamlined look. Tom Ford also went down the sleek route for hair, keeping lengths straight and neat, paired with a slightly smudged classic smoky eye. With her use of kohl, Topshop Unique's girl played the rebellious younger sister to Tom Ford's groomed woman, experimenting with eyeliner which she drew on in a thick line under her eye, adding more than a few coats of mascara.
Milan(03 of04)
Moving to Milan, the Missoni girl had echoes of Topshop, as under-lined eyes were paired with Eugene Souleiman's urban buns, piling girls' hair high on their heads with tendrils falling free. This dishevelled look was a juxtaposition to the Sam McKnight-signed hair at Fendi: the British hairstylist pleated models' hair into an origami-esque style and tied it in a low pony at the back. The end result was clean, simple and highly effective. Gucci incorporated the Sixties into its show, sending out Twiggy-style mini dresses on models sporting the British icon's beauty favourite, false eyelashes on top and bottom lashes, complete with a flick of eyeliner. Lashes were the focus at both Prada and Versace too, with the Italian brands taking two very different routes. Over at Versace, eyes fluttered like butterflies, thanks to a double dose of ladylike false eyelashes. The attention was all on the eyes as skin was matte and hair was poker straight. Miuccia Prada opted for a graphic take on mascara, which Pat McGrath happily supplied. After being coated with multiple layers, eyelashes separated naturally as though combed through, and were highlighted with a touch of blue eyeshadow and lightly stained lip.
Paris(04 of04)
A month of shows ended in Paris, where the Sixties trend stayed strong, seen in the silhouettes of Miu Miu, Louis Vuitton and Valentino. It was the Saint Laurent girl who was the walking incarnation of a Mod girl though, as models strode the runway in mini-skirts, paired with a thick flick of black eyeliner and lashings of mascara in true Twiggy style. Eyeliner was a focus in the French capital, as Anthony Vaccarello and Lanvin showcased new techniques and effects. Tom Pecheux took a thread, painted on red and black eyeliner and then pressed this onto skin, creating a fine, fractured line, both hesitant and impactful. Equally stand-out was Pat McGrath's plume of raven black smudged eyeliner at Lanvin, which mirrored the dark, feather-strewn collection by Alber Elbaz. But it was Alexander McQueen who took graphic make-up and feathers to the extreme, where Pat McGrath continued her work, this time adding plumes of black feathers to eyebrows. The look turned models into night birds, who walked the mysterious night garden runway in equally structural and impressive designs by Sarah Burton. Breaking from the trend for dark make-up, Dior perfectly complemented bright colour clashing gowns with two vibrant smoky eyes. Models' eyelids were washed in either khaki or turquoise, before receiving a generous dose of eye-catching pailettes. It was one of the brighter looks in a season that saw natural beauty shine through, from Nicolas Ghesquière's pared-back cool girl at Louis Vuitton, to Valentino's serene beauty, spiced up with one of the most 3D ponytails this season, rivalled only by the tight cornrows at Alexander McQueen.