Cutouts to pastels: Fashion Week's hottest looks

Pastels, cutouts and florals ruled the runway as Fashion Week kicked off in New York, showcasing the latest looks for the spring 2014 season.

The week's events marked the seventh time that Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week took place in Lincoln Center. Nearly 90 designers showcased their collections to packed crowds of buyers, fashion media and bloggers.

In total, more than 250 shows will take place in the city at Lincoln Center and other venues, including Milk Studios and Pier 57.

The fashion industry accounts for nearly 5 percent of the city's workforce, while the biannual show attracts nearly 250,000 attendees, according to Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

For the second time, every runway show was live streamed from the tents, in collaboration with Rightster. Backstage, designers also tweeted, "Instagrammed" and pinned behind-the-scenes action for fans, reflecting the importance of providing their potential customers with insider access in real-time.

Click ahead for some highlights from the New York Spring 2014 fashion show.

—By CNBC's Katie Little
Published 10 Sept. 2013

Updated 12 Sept. 2013

Drawing inspiration from Jacques Henri Lartigue's 1920s photographs of women lounging around the French Riviera, Badgley Mischka included a wide range of outfits for dressing from day to formal evening occasions.

The high-end label's show ended with several highly embroidered formal pastel gowns.

Known for her bright colors and tribal prints, Mara Hoffman presented a vibrant collection that looked at different cultures and cosmic spaces through a prism of color, according to the show notes.

"Motifs found throughout the collection include serpents, representative of transition and evolution as well as eyes found in the Iris print group to symbolize transcendent vision," the notes said.

Known as being one of the more playful presentations, the Betsey Johnson show this season was no exception. Models, wearing animal prints and black-and-white outfits, danced for the cameras with oversized jewelry and bubble-gum pink hair.

At the end, models wearing day-of-the-week underwear, shown here, came on stage before the designer herself walked the catwalk and performed her trademark cartwheel.

Designer Monique Lhuillier splashed the Lincoln Center runway with formal gowns in pink, cream and orange.

Lhuillier creates bridal wear, shoes and evening gowns. Her other business pursuits include collections of home fragrances, stationery and fine jewelry.

Models pose during the Marc Jacobs show finale on Thursday at New York's Armory on Lexington Avenue. The show's set included cigarette butts, Big Gulp cups and destroyed fashion magazines littered on black sand. Jacobs is known for going against the fashion grain by presenting unique fashion shows that break from the typical Lincoln Center runway presentation.

From Nanette Lepore's humble beginnings with a $5,000 loan from her father, the brand has grown to include women's apparel, handbags, footwear, accessories, swimwear, a junior collection with JC Penney and home. Many of the outfits, such as those shown on left and right, featured bright colors while several of them featured the floral print shown in the middle.

Ralph Rucci showed more than 60 looks in his Spring 2014 presentation, virtually unheard of in today's fashion world where around 30 is the norm. Neutrals dominated the collection, which was interspersed with splashes of coral and bronze.

Titled "Oasis," the notes for Diane von Furstenberg's show encouraged guests to "be your own oasis ... an unexpected source of renewal, serenity and beauty." The star-studded event included model Naomi Campbell, seen in the middle, walking down the runway.

Several of the looks in Bibhu Mohapatra's collection included examples of 3-D adornment, as shown in the outfit on the right.

Since launching his first collection during New York Fashion Week in 2009, Mohapatra has become a member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America and received the Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation Award.

His designs are sold at Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus and select specialty boutiques in North America, Europe, Russia and the Middle East.

Clean lines and minimal embellishment ruled the runway during Lacoste's show. Several of the looks also featured the sheer material and cutouts that were popular in designer presentations this season.

Unlike the highly conceptual looks that designers often present at Fashion Week and likely won't show up on store shelves, Michael Kors presented practical outfits, many of which were sharply tailored.

Kors is one of many top designers, such as Marc Jacobs and Jason Wu, who recently debuted their perfume lines in partnership with leading cosmetics companies during the run-up to Fashion Week.

Like Jason Wu, Tracy Reese's star power rose last year after first lady Michelle Obama stepped out in one of her designs at the Democratic National Convention.

Thankfully for Reese, Obama's interest in her designs lasted longer than her short-lived bangs. The first lady recently wore a Reese dress for the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King's march on Washington.

This season, Reese presented a collection with bold styles infused with Afro-Cuban influences that included "geometric laces, raffia embellishments (and) tribal embroideries."

Reese's middle and right looks both feature variations of florals that were popular on runways this season.

Debuting its first runway show at New York Fashion Week on Friday, Zimmermann is one of a handful of Aussie labels to come to the Big Apple from Down Under. Others include Dion Lee and Sass & Bide. Last year, the company opened its first New York flagship store.

Several of its looks for Spring 2014 included frills, like the ones shown here, and metallics.

Several of the looks in Marc Jacobs' presentation included aloha prints, such as the one shown on the right, along with beaded and embroidered jackets.

Showcasing the breadth of his designs, Carmen Marc Valvo presented a collection that included cocktail dresses, evening gowns and swimwear.

Trend forecaster Stylesight predicted that geometric designs, like the ones shown here, would be one of the key themes on the runway this season.

"A return to simplicity will emerge in the form of clean, geometric lines and fabrics such as smooth cottons, linens and foam-backed pieces," the firm predicted. "A strong color scheme of black and white, neutrals, metallic and digital prints will drive collections."

Cutouts, like those in the Carmen Marc Valvo look in the middle, were also popular at Lincoln Center this season.

After spending more than a decade at J.Crew before rising to the position of head of womenswear and apparel design, Marissa Webb branched out on her own and officially launched her eponymous label with the Spring 2013 collection last year.

In this season's presentation, Webb displayed pops of bold color paired with feminine looks.

On Friday, Nicole Miller presented her "Rebel with a cause" collection, drawing inspiration from "the gardens of Versailles and storming the castle."

Several of the outfits features florals, which were popular in many designer presentations this season, and bright, colorful patterns.

Known for ultra-feminine looks, Tadashi Shoji featured pastel-colored evening and cocktail dresses, inspired by "Sweet Liberation," or "the desire to assert confidence combined with the beauty of sweet femininity."

The company also livestreamed the show on its website. Its designs are available at more than 4,000 stores worldwide, including Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale's, Macy's, and Lord & Taylor.

Smiling for the camera, Desigual models showed a playful side not typically seen on the runway during a presentation full of colorful looks.

Two models get ready backstage before heading to the stage for Marissa Webb's presentation on Thursday.

At one of the first shows on Thursday, Chai showed his menswear and womenswear collections at Lincoln Center during a presentation that featured several looks with geometric elements. Chai told trade publication Women's Wear Daily that the collection was inspired by "soft geometry."

Many outfits this season, like the BCBG MaxAzria outfit on the left, featured sheer elements and cutouts.

The brand's parent company also shows Herve Leger, a higher-end label, at Lincoln Center each season.

For 10 years, Nicholas K, designed by a sister-and-brother team, has been presenting womenswear collections heavy on draped and layered neutrals. The brand kicked off Fashion Week on Thursday.

Backstage, a model prepares to hit the runway at Tadashi Shoji's presentation on Thursday.

In front of a packed audience and the "Project Runway" judges, eight remaining designers from the show's latest season presented small collections with eclectic looks, like one dress made of paper.

In front of Lincoln Center, three fashionable people pose for the camera. Nearby, brands, including popchips, BluePrintJuice and Cottonelle, competed for attendees' attention.

It's the ultimate parade of New York street style. During Fashion Week, fashion enthusiasts break out their most fashion-forward outfits to wear around Lincoln Center.

To the beat of Cyndi Lauper's 1980s anthem, models walked down the runway of Nicole Miller's presentation on Friday. They skipped the typical rigid closing show formation where models walked in single file in favor of a more lighthearted arrangement.

Models walk down the catwalk during Rebecca Minkoff's presentation while American R&B and soul musician Janelle Monae performed in the background.

Inspired by Frida Kahlo, Minkoff showed looks featuring bright florals and maxi dresses.

Models walk both sides of the runway during BCBG Max Azria's show on Thursday. This middle aisle adds more coveted front row seats to what's already the largest of Lincoln's Center's four presentation areas.

Victoria Beckham presented her latest collection to a crowd that included husband and retired soccer star David Beckham and Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour. In Beckham's show notes, she described this season's looks as "the merging of boy and girl sensibilities."

For this one-piece swimsuit, Herve Leger combined a black jacquard material with a zipper front and open-toe pump.