Costume national

Forget about the trite and tried this Halloween.

The runways made more fascinating ideas for fancy dress.

Before you reach into the back of your closet for that requisite sexy nurse uniform you always find yourself wearing come Halloween, think again. The sexy nurse is so last year. (Seriously, Marc Jacobs had the supes — that’s supermodels in fashion speak — parade down Louis Vuitton’s runway as bombshell nurses last year.) 

Now instead of hoping that an all-black ensemble with a skeleton doodled over it in white marker is enough to get you through the epic costume party that is October 31st, look to the spring/summer 2009 shows for inspiration.

That’s what we did at YStyle last year. Macabre figures from a Grimm fairytale, a court jester and, yes, a sexy nurse took over our Halloween cover last year. Now it’s become a tradition to seek inspiration from the hallowed minds behind fashion.

London, New York and Paris fashion week was rife with ideas, from Rick Owens’ fastidiously-styled nuns, Junya Watanabe’s hippie farmgirls, Yamamoto’s downtrodden bride, Balmain’s bombshell ballerina and Margiela’s ode to Cousin It.

It doesn’t take much to recreate some of the out-of-this-world looks. A quick call to costume shop Camp Suki (tel. 725-0819) for some of the wilder pieces should do the trick, but if you’re feeling creative, a treasure hunt through the mall and some DIY styling should get you the claps and whistles you deserve once you take your new costume out for a spin.

And if you spot a sexy nurse through the throngs of costumed partygoers, give yourself a pat on the back that you got to dodge that tired bullet.

The costume

Runway rundown:Martin Margiela’s ode to Working Girl meets Cousin It

Wear it with: Straight jacket by Ava Paguyo (0917-8920143/ Sewthepopstation.multiply.com) and sheer pantyhose and a wig

The costume

Runway rundown: Martin Margiela’s incognito models, their faces swathed in scarves and stockings, serve as an eerie foil to Junya Watanabe’s sunny tribal prints. Call it the “farmer went to hell” look.

Wear it with: Green Tree dress by Nins Evangelista (0917-5457562) available at ILoveYouStore, Cubao X; Galvez basket and Country Roots staff available at Kultura, SM

The costume

Runway rundown: What do you get when you mix Christian Dior’s fierce towering platforms with Kris Van Asche’s chola-inspired look? Pure hotness. NY designer Van Asche turned to the mafiosi and latin gangs for inspiration, sending out a parade of masculine tailoring with overtly sexual elements (there were large amounts of exposed flesh).

Wear it with: Lots of lipliner a shade darker than your lipstick and tons of eyeliner. Think J.Lo before she left the Bronx. Denim skirt by Ava Paguyo, shoes by Maco Custodio (0922-8886226), tattoos by Ramon Vizmonte (Rockmanila.net), skeleton hands available at Toy Kingdom, SM

The costume

Runway rundown: Designer Rick Owens served up some seriously minimal dressing for his s/s ’09 collection with models in habits straight out of the convent. “Priestesses of Longing” is how he dubbed them. The style is delightfully in tune with today’s minimalist dressing and should be a cinch to recreate. Mix with some fall ’08 Prada lace and you’ve got the look down pat. 

Wear it with: Wimple available at Camp Suki at 88 4th Ave., New Manila

The inspiration

Runway rundown: Pair Balmain’s sweet ballerina with Christopher Kane’s gorilla tee, inspired in part by Dian Fossey and her gorillas and Planet of the Apes. Kane’s references are particularly timely thanks to Apes star Charlton Heston’s recent passing.  

Wear it with: No one wants an overage, underdressed ballerina in a poufy skirted, low-cut ensemble. Add some edge to your costume by mixing in Kane’s ape references. Top by Maidenform at SM, belt available at Camp Suki, skirt by Avel Bacudio at SM, gorilla mask, available at Toy Kingdom, SM

The inspiration

Runway rundown: Yohji Yamamoto’s carpetbagger bride, dressed in a hoop skirt and picture hat, and Vivienne Westwood’s frothy, bustled pieces serve as ideal inspiration for the romantically-inclined. Think Bride of Frankenstein meets Gone with the Wind.

Wear it with: ”Bukas Luluhod ang mga Tala #2" worn over “Sheer Dress #3” by Geof Gonzales available at ILOVEYOU Store, Cubao X and Backstage, Serendra

The costume

Runway rundown: Giles Deacon’s Pac-Man-slash-astronaut-inspired headgear is an ode to the graphic movement of the late '80s. Gareth Pugh, meanwhile, took to the dark side­ — as in Darth Vader’s dark side. How else can we explain this designer’s delightful romp into the realm of sci-fi fantasy?

Wear it with: Stockings by Ava Paguyo, helmet and plastic ruffled dress and jacket available at Camp Suki