Runway

Adhering to his Old Hollywood-glamour M.O., Zac Posen centered his Resort collection on a lavish mix of body-conscious evening gowns, made doubly dramatic with corseted bodices, structural origami-like folds, voluminous sleeves, and floor-skimming trains. But it wasn't just the attention to silhouette that supplied Posen's collection with something altogether luxurious. He used a wide range of colors — brick red, soft creams, and dainty butterfly patterns among them — to illustrate a certain lusciousness outside of the gown's shape. And to drive home the point of this collection's universal appeal, he cast mother-daughter model duo Pat and Anna Cleveland as his lookbook muses.

The more formal gowns aside, there was still room for shorter (read: knee-length) dress iterations and velvet-embroidered separates to make an appearance, the kind of romantic, floral-printed staples that look like they've been plucked fresh from a garden party scene.

Source: Courtesy of Zac Posen

For Calvin Klein Collection Resort 2014, Francisco Costa offered up something equally new and familiar. The palette is one the Calvin Klein loyalist knows well — neutrals with a splash of deep green and blue — and the silhouettes? Long, lean, and structurally minimal — a perfect storm of tailoring requirements. And thanks to an abundance of wide belts and zipper fronts, the urban utilitarian motif from Fall 2013 held strong. Meanwhile, crop tops (in black-and-white iterations) prevailed as the collection's bread and butter, giving way to an overwhelming push for skin-revealing dressing.

But don't worry about a resurgence of '90s-inspired belly-baring looks here. Costa's lineup was marked by a new kind of luxury. Be it gorgeous textures (think ultrasuede, nubuck, and ostrich) or the designer's nod to artist Ellsworth Kelly's work space by virtue of colors used, Resort supplied a very sophisticated mix of pieces. All looks were completed with architectural crisscross sandals, an apropos accent for a collection deeply rooted in clean constructs and effortless styling.

There are few things the fashion industry likes to do more than support a worthy cause, and on Friday Roberto Cavalli, along with a bevy of supermodels and bold-faced names, did just that at the annual Life Ball in Vienna, Austria.

The glittering event took over Vienna's City Hall Square with an enormous runway and a stage made to look like an Indian Palace — fitting, considering this year's theme was the ancient anthology One Thousand and One Nights.

Cavalli added even more glamour by dressing models Karolina Kurkova, Nieves Alvarez, and Eva Riccobono, among others, for a retrospective show of his work. Adam Lambert, Azealia Banks, and Fergie gave performances at the event, which included speeches from former President Bill Clinton and Sir Elton John.

A look inside the party, the performances, and the runway spectacular, here in the gallery.

Source: Benjamin Lozovsky/BFAnyc.com

It's almost time to ring in the New Year. Before you get all dressed up in your sparkling outfit, don't forget to consider your hair and makeup. Here are five different beauty looks straight from the runway that will look perfect in your New Year's photos, wherever they get posted.