New York Fashion Week: The top 5 Spring 2014 trends to try now

Athlete’s world

Sport luxe has been in the air for the past couple of seasons but with so many designers embracing the athletic look, consider Spring 2014 it’s official coming out party. At DKNY windbreakers, racer tanks and track pants raced down the runway, while VPL went all the way active with running tights, technical t-shirts and workout gear constructed from water-repellant wicking fabrics. Even Vera Wang dabbled in sport chic with crop tops, technical mesh and zip-up track jackets.

Day glow brights

Vivid pastels and chalky brights are lighting up the runways for spring. DKNY showed outfits in highlighter hues of pink, yellow and turquoise, Jeremy Laing took inspiration from sidewalk chalk for his collection of Malibu-ready looks, and Prabal Gurung and Oscar de la Renta pumped up the volume on pastels for posh eveningwear. Even J.Crew and Calla got into the act with surf-inspired, California brights.

Liquid metallics

The metallics trend comes back every year but this season the approach is less edgy futuristic, more silky, sheeny and sophisticated. Gold and silver lamé skirts at Altuzarra dressed up body hugging henleys, and a shiny lace print skirt and jacket look was pure uptown elegance at Tory Burch. Meanwhile, a psychedelic oil-slick effect upped the interest on a shiny metallic coat at Marc by Marc Jacobs.

Laser tag

From sheer materials and mesh fabrics to open weave sweaters and frosty latex layers, designers are hinting suggestively at skin for spring. At the intricate end of the spectrum, laser cut details gave designers another more embellished way of exploring the idea. Tory Burch layered lattice-cut leathers over spring knits, Alexander Wang lasered his own name onto everything from pleated skirts and dresses to jackets and gloves, and Threeasfour laser-cut complex geometrical shapes into layered silks to create a 3D effect.

And did we mention crop tops?

A couple days into New York Fashion Week, we were pretty sure crop tops were trending for spring, and now that we’re more than halfway through the week, well let’s just say it would almost be easier to list the shows that didn’t cop a crop on the runway this season. We continued to see model midriff everywhere from Tibi, Tommy Hilfiger and Prabal Gurung for ICB to Vera Wang, Narciso Rodriguez and Rodarte. Just to name a few!