Trend Workshop: Designers play peek-a-boo in sheer delight

As soon as I thought my wardrobe was gravitating towards color, I was lured back by the beauty of black. For their fall collections, several designers on the Paris, New York and Milan runways showed black done in fabulous sheer glory — reincarnations of see-through touches in chiffon, tulle and mesh, new sexy shapes like transparent pencil skirts and filmy, skintight bodices.

I’ve always felt content in black, a fail-safe choice for looking classically chic, simple, and five pounds lighter. A well-cut black dress, as we know, can get you through many fashion conundrums and instantly set you up for day to night. Lately though, my half a closet’s worth of evening clothes — a sea of black in silk, lace, or synthetics — was beginning to bore me. In a crowd of revelers on a night out, a woman in black admittedly will not stand out.

The current gloomy weather somehow justifies the switch to somber dressing, typhoon season deeming it inappropriate to be strutting around Manila’s flooded streets in happy colors. Besides we’re in the thick of the “ber” months, which means we should be covering up instead of going bare. Sheer, preferably in fitted long sleeves, is a perfect way to wear this trend for evening. It exposes just the right amount of skin and shape so you don’t feel so covered up. You can feel sexy and ladylike underneath the thinnest layer of black fabric.

At Givenchy, Ricardo Tisci sent his models out in transparent organza skirts in pencil and peplum shapes. The skirts were see-through from waist to hem, a hint of skin peeking under structured pieces in leather, patent and velvet. But most wearable and elegant was a fitted long-sleeved high number cut high on the neck, worn on top of skintight velvet trousers. It certainly caused a tizzy among fans of voyeuristic clothing, but worn with care, these showed the perfect amount of skin for a new breed of sexy secretary.

Now you see it: Designer Veejay Floresca’s collection of peek-a-boo panels of French crepe and black illusion tulle mesh on models Karen Pamintuan, Patty Laurel, Kelly Misa, Marge Gutierrez, and Lala Jara.

Other designers provided fine inspiration with their takes on sheer. At Louis Vuitton, headline-making Marc Jacobs shocked with a fetish-themed collection (you could call this the “sexy chauffeur” look) that included see-through horizontal skirt panels and visible retro undergarments. Combining dominatrix and retro glam, it was still about the allure of the interplay between black sheer fabric and skin. 

At Azzarro, Vanessa Seward’s collection echoed with elements of transparency. She executed sexy elegance perfectly in a floor-length gown with a strip of lace running down from the shoulder to ankle. At the ’70s-inspired Gucci show, Frida Giannini sent out billowy evening gowns in layers of chiffon, a look that she says was inspired by rocker chick Florence Welch. Monique Lhuillier summed up our enduring love affair with this absence of color. She showed 22 black pieces in her collection, explaining, “Women feel most beautiful in black.”

I chanced upon Filipino designer Veejay Floresca’s clever peek-a-boo collection fresh from his show at Malaysia’s MASIF 2011 festival two weeks ago. The talented 26-year-old represented the Philippines in our Asian neighbor’s Music, Arts, Style, and International Festival in Kuala Lumpur. The three-day event featured successful international Malaysians as well as selected regional artists, singers, musicians and designers. Shown on an outdoor runway at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Floresca made a modern statement with his cleverly-placed sheer panels.

“Sexy but sophisticated,” Floresca says. “They evoked a woman’s sensual side without being too vulgar,” adding that the dresses have an inner nude dress to cover the body. Taking off from his holiday collection at Philippine Fashion Week, he created this capsule collection making use of French crepe and black illusion tulle mesh. The panels were notably curve-inducing, good news for those who dream of a fuller figure (but a kiss of death for those who’d prefer to minimize one).

Floresca has just finished a bridal wear course at the Central St. Martins and is clearly reeling from the inspiration of his London stint. Because of the nature of the festival, the organizers suggested he bring a mix of models from different industries. He picked five “real women” of different sizes to walk the runway: model and editor Karen Pamintuan, gamine TV host Patty Laurel, pretty Kelly Misa, model and lawyer Marge Gutierrez, and Lala Jara, a preschool teacher.

Recently, stylist Liz Uy was seen stepping out in a black sheer pencil cut dress by Ivar Aseron, a design from his earlier butterfly-themed collection at Fashion Watch. “The sleeves were made of tulle, with a bookleaf detail on the cuffs,” says Aseron. Midi cut but exposing the precision of a cut- out back under the thinnest stretch of tulle, the look is simply “sexy yet elegant,” says Ivar. When I asked Liz what drew her to this piece, she says, “It was the juxtaposition of the sharpness of the details and the femininity of the sheer. I also liked the surprise of the sleeves. It looked simple but in reality it was a bit complicated.”

That’s exactly the allure of sheer — you get a glimpse of something but can’t tell what’s really happening beneath the surface.