Just like what a good setlist is to a concert or a great menu is to a restaurant, it seems like the secret for a runway show to work is a strong lineup. Philippine Fashion Week (PhFW) spring/summer 2016’s Day Two redeemed itself from yesterday’s rut, all thanks to this day’s set of designers.
We are reminded again what this fashion event is all about and what everyone came to see: the clothes. All thanks to three homegrown PhFW designers like Arnold Galang, Randall Solomon, and Jerome Salaya Ang who put out collections that once again excite and, more importantly, make us want to buy.
So the cat is out of the bag. PhFW can actually put up a great show if only given the right designers to work with. But it seems that it isn’t as simple as it sounds—why else would there be inconsistent days season after season?
Pat Santos
Pat enjoyed his blue and green colors and prints a lot, and it showed. The collection was filled with them, if not the only sole point of it all. You’ve got sundresses with slits, structured dresses with bustier-like upper halves that can be unflattering, and well-made sheer-paneled and pleated skirts. So it’s a collection that has its highs and lows but leaves you asking “Do I love it or do I hate it?” A puzzled spectator, most likely displeased, isn’t what we wanted to end up as after a show.
Arnold Galang
Arnold does so well with relaxed dressing. Materials are inherently easy and light yet so luxe while staying very wearable and casual. Isn’t this what designing clothes is all about—to create something one would actually wear? Though he taps a younger demographic for his black-and-white collection brimming with asymmetrical vests, cropped trousers, and loose and languid skirts, he made sure to have pieces representative of everyone. In case you missed it, Arnold Galang has always made everyone feel and look cool again—young or young at heart.
Randall Solomon
Here comes a collection that’s very now, a design epitomizing a woman who dresses just for herself. Randall’s pieces, though tailored, looked very easy to wear. Is it in the way the oversized dresses and tops form a structured ease? Or maybe how the printed coats and jackets looked sleek when zipped up, and casual and cool when opened up? We don’t know how exactly, but somewhere along swooning over pleated, sheer skirts and see-through slipdresses we got convinced—we want in on Randall’s photo-ready pieces!
Jerome Salaya Ang
Now this is how you do kitsch. No matter how eclectic Jerome’s collection was, we see his woman: a sophisticated chola girl out about town. Neon star-shaped earrings and a bandana on our heads, anyone? This collection shows how much Jerome just wants to have fun this time. Luxe pieces in dark, rich overtones have always been his signature but now, we saw a freer version of him. There was a playful take on tweed (rug coats and palazzo pants), and a charming surprise of actual zebra patches on eveningwear. Overall, it’s a collection with an impact twice as much compared to the others’. How often do you come into a show and end up dreaming of yourself wearing a piece or two in some make-believe land? Not a lot! But this seems to be a common scenario in Jerome’s world.
Click through the slideshow to see some of the looks from each designer!
Photos by Acushla Obusan