Sheen and prints on suits and sportswear

Viktor & Rolf Monsieur

MANILA, Philippines - Shine: a major theme for the season. But Viktor & Rolf did theirs differently, taking their cue from India’s folk embroidery, and scattering mirrors on suits. Glitzy gray threads were woven into herringbone-patterned suits; a muted silver tie accented a peachy-beige suit.

The color orange ran the spectrum: from rich brown to light peach, and several shades in between that were reminiscent of the ‘70s. Non-suit ensembles felt easy and casual, not least due to shiny sneakers –– and straw hats too, for just that little bit of preppy.

Damir Doma

The collection, unlike previous seasons, had more of something for everyone –– a bit disappointing after the previous season’s magnificent and tight tribal collection. The brand, it seemed, had acquiesed to sportswear trends: a pair of light blue shorts might be extremely apt for a light summer day, and a messenger bag styled with a kerchief at the neck seemed to say ”walking down the street casually and taking on the world.” It spelled confident and cool. They were vastly different from the (merely) downright cool attitude in the past, where the Damir Doma man had less prep, a singular attitude, and seemingly no hardware on his clothing. But these additional forms, materials and outlooks were perhaps to be expected; the brand had opened shop on Rue du Faubourg St. Honoré a few weeks earlier. But still, in the brand’s process of change and growth, there remained some of the monochromatic pairings that had given the seemingly seamless looks in previous seasons, as well as collarless shirts or Mandarin collars, and a roomier silhouette.

Givenchy

It was a collection that displayed sharp tailoring, clarity in vision, and simplicity in execution. The Madonna was apparently taken from a larger context –– Catholicism — and iconized in a streetsmart manner: printed T-shirts. The prints were reworked onto shifts, jackets and sweaters and what could have been a one-dimensional repetition of a theme was given richness in various fabrics –– pink silks, black chiffon. These were cut to a crisp, pure clean that was in perfect tandem with the show’s religious context.

Interpretations of priestly garb were seen in the likes of fitted long tunics and a suit jacket with a long tail or banded collars. You could almost trace the concept, from editing to presentation, whether combined with a sporty appeal into a black T-shirt, retaining elegance in a soft pink silk tunic, or expressing a more graphic and artistic bent in a white sweater with a soft gray print of Jesus’ crown of thorns and the number 17 in bold font.

It was as if the literal design of that long black clergy robe had been burned somewhere but its essence remained.

Kenzo

There were leopard and zebra prints, bluish-green suits that felt like reinterpreted safari wear, and small leather accessories to hold your most basic essentials: the collection, after all, was inspired by the duo’s travels to Southeast Asia. The word ”jungle” on a longsleeved T-shirt at the end spelled it out.

But everything was sport to the Kenzo man and he was out to conquer –– in a playful manner. He was going to have fun in his loose spottily-printed light brown and pale yellow silk shirt, his maize, rust and light blue mailman’s attire, or his orange cotton trousers.

In addition to the spirited looks there were laidback separates, no less sporty and adding dimension to this energetic collection: windowpane shirts, white sneakers. The adventuring man, after all, would need something in his wardrobe for some downtime, just wandering around.