5 things to know as Fashion Week season kicks off

10 February 2017 - 17:05 By Nothemba Mkhondo

As fashion packs around the globe flurry ahead of the presentation of the new season's trends, here's everything you need to know to keep you in the loop.

1) The most anticipated shows at New York Fashion Week

Calvin Klein Collection: 10 February 2017

As this is Raf Simons' debut collection for Calvin Klein, the fashion masses are eagerly waiting to see what the designer has in store.

So far Simons has made a few subtle but bold moves in transforming this classic American brand. This includes introducing a new logo (pictured below) and a new made-to-measure service called Calvin Klein By Appointment.

WATCH Calvin Klein Men’s + Women’s Fall 2017 RTW show LIVE FROM 5PM

Monse and Oscar De La Renta: 13 February 2017

Monse has been a fast favourite since its debut on the fashion calendar in Spring/Summer 2015. The dynamic design duo behind the brand, Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim, trained under Oscar De La Renta and proceeded to be named the successors of his eponymus label after his passing.

In a bold, unprecedented move on the Fashion Week circuit, Monse and Oscar De La Renta will come together on one runway for the simultaneous presentation of their Autumn/Winter 2017 womenswear collections.

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2) 'See now, buy now' collections

The fashion cycle keeps turning and is only getting faster as more and more designers jump on the 'see now, buy now' bandwagon. This new model of production means collections are available immediately after appearing on the catwalk – as opposed to the four- to six-month gap you used to have to wait before runway looks hit retail stores in the past.

Burberry led the pack with the first-ever 'see now, buy now' runway show in September 2016. This season, Tommy Hilfiger, Tom Ford and H&M are following suit.

3) Trends to look out for

If the menswear and couture collections are anything to go by, we’re expecting to see runways full of autumnal colours and lots of romantic silhouettes and textures. Look out for velvet and loads more ruffles on the catwalk this season.

4) Who’s in, who’s out

These are some of the designers making big moves in the next few months:

• Raf Simons will be showing his first collection as the new creative force behind Calvin Klein.

• After much speculation, Riccardo Tisci will show his last collection as the man at the helm of Givenchy. Rumour has it, he's heading to Versace so maybe we'll see more of him next season.

• Clare Waight will be presenting her last collection for Chloe during Paris Fashion Week.

5) Who to follow

The pace of Fashion Week can be dizzying so make sure you're following the right people to keep you up to speed on all the beauty, runway and street style news.

For anything beauty follow Pat McGrath (@patmcgrathreal), makeup artist and design director of P&G Beauty, and MAC Cosmetics (@maccosmetics) on Instagram.

For all things runway follow Instagram fashion director Eva Chen (@evachen212) and Derek Blasberg (@derekblasberg) of Vanity Fair, Gagosain Gallery and CNN Style.

For an entertaining behind the scenes commentary follow style consultant and creative director Shiona Turini (@shionat) on Snapchat. She posts hilarious snappy videos with her fash pack under the title "The Lewks".

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