Style Origin At Greenbelt

Sassa Jimenez:Sassy florals, casual khakis

MANILA, Philippines - If your first thought was “florals, mad, rampant, florid florals” as a running theme at the Men’s Week showing of Sassa Jimenez, Randy Ortiz and Joey Samson, then you are oddly prescient and should consider a career in palm-reading or, better yet, weather forecasting.

Three designers of varying caliber and aesthetics, one in her mid-20s attempting her first menswear collection next to two veterans, seemed to have florals and color in mind when designing for the opening show of Style Origin, a collaborative effort between Ayala Malls, Philippine STAR and Tiger 22.

It emerged amid khaki camo in Sassa Jimenez’s collection, a mix of dapper shirts and bowties and safari flak jackets. Mining the vast valley between macho and metro, Jimenez strived for a nonchalant air. “I created them specifically to have a loose and carefree fit so it matches our weather,” the California Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising-trained designer tells YStyle. “These are statement pieces that are easy to wear when you’re in jeans and a T-shirt.”

Jimenez, who grew up with Tom Ford and Karl Lagerfeld as token male muses, grew to love a more urban side: “I found myself more fascinated with streetwear,” she says. “Kanye West and Andre 3000 are heavy influencers in my menswear designs.”

That’s readily apparent in her more playful ensembles, which cheekily mixed a straight-laced piece with more fanciful separates.

Some of her strongest looks boasted florals, while lavender pants evoked a softer, less dramatic side. “This collection has something for anyone who wants to have fun,” she remarks.

Men who are confident enough to experiment, she notes, are the kind of cool customers she’s looking to. “I also realized that all my models were just different versions of my boyfriend,” she laughs. “He’s one of the people I enjoy dressing up.”

Joey Samson: Flashes of skin, layered patterns and funky florals

 “Unpredictable” could be a banner motif for the evening. Joey Samson stepped out of his monochromatic tailored box and went for something looser in spirit — though the silhouettes were anything but.

Florals were present, but in subtle layered ways. Hand-painted over glen plaid or pinstripes. Peeking from the side of otherwise spiffy trousers. It emerged boldly in a robe that wouldn’t look out of place in a Japanese men’s club, followed by an asymmetrical tunic over a black button-down with starched collar and cuffed gray pants.

Though Samson interspersed pieces evocative of a marionette with portions of flesh peeking underneath hand-stitched panels on jackets over seriously short shorts, the true story was in his telling of two stories: a snappy dresser in an homage to the ‘50s, with his starched rounded collar and earnest trousers, and his quixotic grandson with a flair for color and lace.

Samson finds balance in the two. In between the vivid florals and the exposed flesh, there lies a sense of ardent earnestness.

Randy Ortiz: Dapper paisley, vivid tangerines and exotic pastels

 “Bold and wise” was a theme of Randy Ortiz’s, who devoted most of the show to his RTW collection for Myth, the retail concept in Greenbelt 5. Mustard jackets, cropped patterned trousers and printed shirts made for a bright forecast for the coming season.

Ortiz recalls his father, a politician who cut a dapper figure during Ortiz’s childhood in the ’60s. “His taste for clothing was not at all boring,” Ortiz remembers. “He played around with prints, patterns, colors and texture with just a neighborhood tailor at the helm.”

Recalling the halcyon days of debonair dressing brought him full circle. “I thought of paying homage to my father, going through his old wardrobe and his multitudes of suits and thought about how metrosexuals have evolved over time.”

Today’s dapper dresser is a man who strives for a well-turned shirt and a properly-hemmed jacket while unafraid of mixing colors.

“The concept is more upbeat street with a strong clubwear tone,” he declares. “It’s all about men getting bolder, wiser and unpredictable.”

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Men’s Week is a project under Style Origin, a collaborative effort between Ayala Malls, Philippine STAR and Tiger 22, supported by Visa, Globe and Samsung. On April 28, designers Gian Romano, Jerome Lorico and Kermit Tesoro will be presenting their collections at Glorietta, 6 p.m.