Saturday was a good day for Fashion Week. Day two featured the designers who usually deliver season after season. We must say, this time is no different. Most really did.
The constant pressure of a Fashion Week staple is making yourself (or your collection) different and new every time. Besides, a designer is only as good as his last show.
From yesterday’s circus, today was good breathing room. And yes, fashion week got it right on its second night. The next challenge, then, is how to keep the momentum going.
Arnold Galang x Happy Plugs Stockholm
Arnold Galang knows how to dress up a woman. It shows in the languid way the neoprene fabrics just hug the body—take note: These aren’t even bodycon looks. His dresses-over-trousers look is the ultimate solution to every woman’s constant dilemma—why not just wear both?
Verdict: First easy hit of the season!
Cherry Samuya Veric
There is an ongoing motif in Cherry Samuya Veric’s collection: the gold baroque appliqués. It presented promise in the first few looks, but it later evolved to be all that there was. The silhouettes are different for every piece, but that’s about it.
Verdict: We’ll say miss, this time
Jeffrey Rogador x Knomo London
We are all for comfort. Jeffrey Rogador’s propositions are nationalistic designs rendered in sweaters, pullovers, jackets, and shirts. Emblazoned prints are faces of national heroes Andres Bonifacio, Apolinario Mabini, and Melchora Aquino. Not sure if we want them out of our paper bills and on our clothes, but plus points for celebrating the “SuperPinoys,” as per Jeffrey.
Verdict: Streetwear-wise, a hit
Jerome Salaya Ang
A well put-together show. Jerome Salaya Ang knows when to upgrade—and upstage!—when it‘s needed most. The oversized zips and bondage elements aren’t necessarily the most wearable but Jerome manages to make his looks desirable. The mesh neoprene oversized coats, high-slit savaged dresses, and bondage floor-grazers are utilitarianism mixed in with sportif sensibilities that work.
Verdict: Thank god for Jerome
Noel Crisostomo
When the koala prints came out, we sure had our doubts. But you cannot miss Noel Crisostomo’s penchant for aptly tailored clothes that make up for the prints.
It helps that they’re of the right colors, too—the right shade of orange, the right blue. Metal embellishments, which are actually luggage and bag enclosures, are placed on the right spots. In here, we also find variety and cohesiveness by way of calculated designs: a turtleneck vest with a trumpet skirt, flared trousers with good trench coats. Everything else make up for the koala print.
Verdict: More of a good surprise than just hit!
Roland Alzaté x Gosh!
Roland Alzate has a vision. Maybe too much of it, but it’s there. The first third of his collection are plaids in an almost Christmas-y kind of way. (Maybe he took his holiday collection way too literally.) Afterwards came chunky thick-braided jackets, almost rope-like that may photograph really well but look heavy. Then there came the big guns: floor-length dresses and plush coats in purple and grey, and euro jacquards fur that, though thick, we didn’t mind. If only all the clothes were cohesive as a collection, it could’ve been a good contender for the season’s best.
Verdict: The hits didn’t outweigh the misses
See the slideshow above for looks from the designers.
Photos by Patrick Segovia and Renz Martin Reyes