The Hot New Model Must-Have? A Tattoo, Of Course...

Celebrity tattoos have long been a topic of fascination, with the bizarre, the meaningful and the seriously cool making red carpet headlines in recent years, but it's inkings on the runway that everyone's talking about in 2013.

While some of the industry's biggest names (hello, Kate Moss) have sported inkings for a while, it's only recently that body art has become a hot new beauty craze on the catwalk. And we're pretty sure we might have Cara Delevingne to thank for that. It seems not a day goes by that the 21-year-old isn't sporting another piece of art. She now has a lion's face on her finger, her mother's name, Pandora, on her arm, the phrase 'Made In England' on her foot, her initials on her hand and the number 12 below her breast.

Cara Delevingne has her mother's name 'Pandora' inked on her arm

And something tells us the model – who's fronted more campaigns this seasons than we'd care to count – won't be stopping there.

Her tattoo artist Daniel Tucci recently said: 'She loves tattoos and says she isn’t going to stop, she wants to be covered in tattoos.’ 

Fresh from the catwalk at Chanel's SS11 show, Freja Beha Erichsen flaunts her body art

The achingly-cool new tattoo salon Love Hate Social Club opened in London's Notting Hill recently and its launch party was the hottest ticket in West London. 'It's more like a salon than an old tattoo shop,' explains the salon's founder, Fun Lovin' Criminals star and DJ Huey Morgan.

'You can come here and have a coffee, hang out with us, use the internet… over 60 per cent of our clientele is female. We get all types, from models and designers, to doctors.'

We've lost count of Erin Wasson's tattoos... but they've only made her cooler

So what does the industry make of it? Shouldn't Chanel Iman's clothes hanger tattoo on the nape of her neck and Anja Rubik's rat inking put off potential model casters? Heck, no.

Catherine McNeil unveiled her huge rose tattoo on her midriff at the Guy Laroche SS13 show

'Six years ago, very few models had tattoos; now most do,' says Annie Wilshaw, director of Future Faces at Premier Model Management. 'I saw a girl in Topshop who had an image of a ship inked from her back to halfay down her thigh. I was like, "Wow, I bet her face is incredible to match." And it was.'

Kate Moss has an anchor on her wrist and two birds on her lower back, inked by none other than artist Lucian Freud

Our beauty and style editor Cassie Steer, adds: 'There's a trend for booking models based on their individuality now. Tattoos aren't being covered up, they're being celebrated.'

So put that body make-up away. Ink is cool, according to Kate and Cara. And it's here to stay.