Marc Jacobs exits past a black carousel. Photo via Style.com

Though there was no shortage of speculation in prior weeks that the Spring 2014 Louis Vuitton collection would be the last with Marc Jacobs at the helm, the show left no doubts even before the official announcement was made.

The announcement of Jacobs†departure came only moments after the designer presented his Spring/Summer 2014 collection for Louis Vuitton, an all-black, gothic swan song incorporating sets from his most memorable shows for the brand — including a fountain, dual escalators, and a carousel — around which models paraded in dark, funereal clothes and black, tribal headdresses. {Business of Fashion}

Jacobs, who is credited with growing the Louis Vuitton brand beyond its luggage roots, is expected to focus on an IPO for his own eponymous label. LVMH, the parent company of Louis Vuitton owns a 96% stake in the Marc Jacobs brand.

Rick Owens stepped up

There are no awards at the end of the four major fashion weeks that run through New York, London, Milan and Paris, but if there were, the Rick Owens Spring 2014 fashion show would win them all.

Owens, who grew up in California, was familiar with step shows and had perused performances on YouTube. As an admirer, he knew of their long history within African-American fraternities and sororities. Stepping is competitive group showmanship that blends percussive dance moves with hand claps, foot stomps, and vocal shout-outs all executed with military-like precision and school yard bravado. – Robin Givhan for the Cut

Some responses to the show have taken issue with the scowling faces of the women moving down the runway. Rick Owens’ aesthetic has never been about portraying pretty or delicate women. While the wide variety of athletic body types stood out as much as the color of the cast, unlike other shows of this fashion week and fashion weeks past, there were no teasers on invitations or press releases after about the statement that was being made. The display communicated everything that needed to be said, and has likely already earned its place in fashion history.

He is the man, who can top him? So much emotion and he’s not afraid to take a strong position. Half of the audience were practically dancing in their seats while the other half were under the shock as this was not what they were expecting from fashion. – Diane Pernet

The Full Rick Owens Spring 2014 Step Fashion Show Video

Video by Diane Pernet of A Shaded View on Fashion

Trend reports are normally based on what’s been shown on the runway. But the prevalence of a certain color or pattern doesn’t necessarily mean people are interested in it. Fashion will always be an industry for visionaries – creative people who push design ideas the mass market didn’t know they wanted until seeing them. That said, fashion shows and presentations are no longer industry only events. They’re part of the marketing mix to reach customers, and through social media the fan, editor, buyer and shopper can all contribute to the data that exposes where interest is highest.

That’s the idea behind our latest special feature on Fashion Week Trends. We crawled photos associated with nearly 200 shows, more than 5400 individual looks, and let the social media data tell the story. View the Top 25 shows from New York Fashion Week, as well as the Top 50 looks. Individual show rankings are available, with look metrics. The NYFW Runway Intel report combines all of the activity for a complete look at the colors, shapes and designers with the most interest.