Trend Alert: New takes on old favorites

SM opened Philippine Fashion Week with a huge show, debuting over a hundred looks that incorporated summer and holiday trends. STAR breaks down the styles and shows you the trends worth investing in.

Surfin’ Safari

SM puts a new spin on the tried-and-tested trend, throwing in some denim and prints to add contrast to fresh white linen and cool khaki. Aside from belted suits in taupe, wide-leg trousers cinched with a bow at the waist, one-piece rompers with a cuffed hem proved to be an interesting take on the trend, offering new ideas on how to dress for the tropics. For men, shorts in the cropped length, an inch or two below mid-thigh with an almost fitted silhouette, proved popular, revealing itself to be flattering with crisp button-down shirts and T-shirts paired with hoodies.

The Dandy

Men aren’t afraid of high-end fashion-forward styles, as proven by the success of American designers like Michael Bastian, purveyor of $650 cotton shorts. The skinny jean and the new shorts have successfully edged out the baggy ill-fitting pant and hideous clamdigger as the new menswear staple. SM put together key looks for the new dandy: jeans in a dizzying array of hues (from siren red to banana yellow), plenty of plaid shirts, fitted blazers, sweater vests and preppy docksiders.

Brit Invasion

Paying homage to Mods and Brit bands served as the jumping off point for many of the ensembles here, like oversize tanks paired with painted-on leggings, check-print skirt with a bow belt finished with black platforms for girls and open-necked polo shirts in checks, distressed black jackets, T-shirts with plenty of faux-ironic statements and tight pants for boys. Even if most teens’ Brit fashion references are probably lifted from tabloid staples like Moss’ famous, perennially inebriated ex, Libertines frontman Pete Doherty and, of course, the inimitable Amy Winehouse, these outfits should make for better, if more refined, inspiration.

The Decadent Decade

Fashion has yet to exhaust the fashion goldmine that is the ‘80s. What with bedazzled jeans and padded shoulders already proving to be strong silhouettes for seasons to come, the decade has been reincarnated throughout the past month time and again (most obviously in the already canceled Gossip Girl spinoff which would’ve delved into the life of Lily as a teen during the ‘80s while living in LA). SM’s sought inspiration in the primary hues so popular during Cyndi Lauper’s heyday, what with fireman red, hot pink, daffodil yellow and flashy magenta cocktail dresses making their way down the ramp. Black frocks, a one-shoulder asymmetrical style with a sweetheart neckline was particularly appealing, also took center stage, with numerous monochromatic looks sharing airtime with the colorful ensembles.