Fashion weeks

For some, fashion is a corporate industry. For others, it's an artistic expression. And for still others, it's an embrace of cultural traditions. Fashion is a shallow pursuit in the eyes of many, and a deep embodiment of identity for others. Definitions of what is fashionable are myriad and contradictory, but the annual spectacle of the presentation and the scramble of the preparations endure long after this year's look is forgotten. Venues vary from a junkyard in Sao Paulo to the Royal Albert Hall in London. Creations from the absurd to the avant-garde by turns entertain, inspire, or pay homage. Gathered here are images from fall and winter shows both famous and obscure. -- Lane Turner (38 photos total)

Audience members watch a model during the J. Mendel Spring/Summer 2013 show at New York Fashion Week on September 12, 2012. By exposing for the darkened audience, the photographer overexposed the brightly lit model. (Andrew Burton/Reuters)

A model waits backstage before the presentation of the MAN Autumn/Winter 2013 collection during "London Collections: Men" in London January 7, 2013. (Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters) #

Models rehearse during London Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2013, on September 14, 2012 in London. This multiple exposure image was shot with a Holga lens on a DSLR camera and has been converted to black and white. (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images) #

A model presents a creation by Indian designer Gaurav Gupta during the Wills India Fashion Week Spring- Summer collection 2013 in New Delhi on October 8, 2012. (Sajjad Hussain/AFP/GettyImages) #

A model showcases a creation by Chinese designer Guo Pei on November 27, 2012 in Singapore during the Asian Couture 2012 Singapore fashion show. (Wong Maye-E/Associated Press) #

A model presents a creation during the fashion show 'Mix and Match' in Hanoi on November 30, 2012. (Luong Thai Linh/EPA) #

Visitors wait before the opening of Ukrainian Fashion Week in Kiev on October 11, 2012. (Gleb Garanich/Reuters) #

A model showcases designs on the catwalk during SEC Qi Gang Collection of China Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2013 on October 26, 2012 in Beijing. (Feng Li/Getty Images) #

A model displays a creation by Russian designer Marina Makaron during the Russian Fashion Week in Moscow on October 18, 2012. (Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP/Getty Images) #

The runway awaits the Michael Kors Spring 2013 show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at The Theatre at Lincoln Center on September 12, 2012 in New York City. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Michael Kors) #

A model presents a creation from the Cavalera Summer 2012/2013 collection in a junkyard during Sao Paulo Fashion Week on June 16, 2012. (Nacho Doce/Reuters) #

Models walk the runway at the Dolce & Gabbana Spring/Summer 2013 show as part of Milan Womenswear Fashion Week on September 23, 2012 in Milan. (Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images) #

Models wait their turn backstage for the catwalk during a fashion show in Manila on November 29, 2012 to break the Guinness World Record's "Most Number of People on a Catwalk" mark with over 2,000 models. (Noel Celis/AFP/Getty Images) #

Models display creations by Kyrgyz designer Gulzhan Maksutova during Fashion Week in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on November 7, 2012. (Vyacheslav Oseledko/AFP/Getty Images) #

Indian Sikh models pose during the Mr. Singh International Turban Pride 2012 Fashion Show in Amritsar on December 16, 2012. (Narinder Nanu/AFP/Getty Images) #

A model presents a creation by Italian designer of Palestinian descent Jamal Taslaq during his show at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Amman, Jordon on November 7, 2012. (Muhammad Hamed/Reuters) #

A model presents a creation by Japanese designer Tsumori Chisato as part of her Spring/Summer 2013 women's ready-to-wear fashion show during Paris fashion week on September 29, 2012. (Charles Platiau/Reuters) #

A woman uses her mobile phone to shoot a video during the Bottega Veneta Spring/Summer 2013 collection at Milan Fashion Week on September 22, 2012. (Alessandro Garofalo/Reuters) #

A model presents a creation by Indonesian designer Dian Pelangi as part of her "Queen of Giza" collection during the Islamic Fashion Festival in Kuala Lumpur on November 5, 2012. (Bazuki Muhammad/Reuters) #

A model walks behind a curtain at a fashion show by Ne-Tiger during the China Fashion Week in Beijing on October 25, 2012. (Alexander F. Yuan/Associated Press) #

Models display creations by Rajesh Pratap Singh during the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week in New Delhi on October 7, 2012. (Tsering Topgyal/Associated Press) #

A model presents a creation by Lie Sang Bong during the Spring/Summer 2013 ready-to-wear collection show on October 3, 2012 in Paris. (Pierre Verdy/AFP/GettyImages) #

A model displays a creation from designer Yasutaka Funakoshi's Japanese fashion brand "Alice Auaa" at the "Alice In Wonderland In Me" Fashion Show in Tokyo on October 19, 2012. (Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters) #

A dancer performs with sand during Gideon Oberson's show at the Tel Aviv fashion week in Tel Aviv on December 17, 2012. (Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images) #

A model presents a hairstyle creation painted with gold leaf by Helen Reavey at the 30th anniversary of the Alternative Hair Show at the Royal Albert Hall in London on October 14, 2012. (Olivia Harris/Reuters) #

A model presents a creation by Kosovar designer Aferdita Pacarada on December 15, 2012 during a fashion show in Pristina. (Armend Nimani/AFP/Getty Images) #

Ben Rey of Spain attends New York Fashion Week on September 9, 2012. (Andrew Kelly/Reuters) #

A model waits backstage before the Sec Qi Gang fashion show during China Fashion Week in Beijing on October 27, 2012. (Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images) #

Demonstrators protest against the lack of black models in the Fashion Rio show in Rio de Janeiro on November 7, 2012. (Pilar Olivares/Reuters) #

A model touches her mask while rehearsing to show creations from the Homo Consommatus Spring/Summer 2013 collection during New York Fashion Week on September 12, 2012. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters) #

An inmate of an all-female jail poses for a photograph before participating in a fashion show in San Salvador on November 30, 2012. The inmates learn tailoring skills as part of a rehabilitation program and then put on a fashion show of the clothes they have made. (Ulises Rodriguez/Reuters) #

An indigenous fashion designer looks in a mirror as she adjusts her hat before the start of an Andean fashion show featuring hand woven clothing in Lima, Peru on November 28, 2012. (Martin Mejia/Associated Press) #

A model is prepared by hairdressers backstage before the presentation of Spring/Summer 2013 creations by Serbian fashion designer Aleksandar Protic during the 39th Edition of Moda Lisboa at Patio da Gale, Terreiro do Paco Square in Lisbon on October 14, 2012. (Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP/GettyImages) #

A model holds still for a make-up artist backstage in preparation for a show by Jean Paul Gaultier during Cali Exposhow fashion week in Cali, Colombia on October 17, 2012. (Fernando Vergara/Associated Press) #

Models have their hair done in preparation for French designer Chris Ambraisse Boston's ready-to-wear collection for physically challenged people in Paris on November 29, 2012. Boston, founder of the association "Fashion and Handicap, It's Possible", presented his new show "A Fashion Which Sublimates Differences" at the Cite de la Mode et du Design in Paris. (Benoit Tessier/Reuters) #

Brazilian fashion models get ready before the start of the Nica Kessler presentation during the Rio Fashion Week 2013 Autumn/ Winter collection on November 9, 2012 in Rio de Janeiro. (Antonio Scorza/AFP/Getty Images)#

Model Nafissatou Gningue wears a creation by Egyptian designer Tito backstage during the 10th annual Dakar Fashion Week on June 16, 2012. (Finbarr O'Reilly/Reuters)#

72-year-old former farmer Liu Qianping, also known as "MaDiGaGa", poses in Guangzhou on November 24, 2012. Liu was visiting his 24-year-old granddaughter Lu Ting one day as the model that was booked for a photo shoot by her and her colleagues to promote their online fashion business suddenly cancelled, so Liu stepped in to help, launching his modelling career. (Tyrone Siu/Reuters)#