Capes and scarlet: The top trends from Philippine Fashion Week Holiday 2014

The 52 designers and brands in this year’s Holiday Fashion Week demonstrated their sartorial cunning on the runways of SMX during a four-day spectacle. In the flurry of long-standing trends, a batch of new ones emerged. Here are the top seven we’ve set our eyes on.

Caped crusaders
Trend: Capes

We’ve seen it march down the runways of New York, Milan, London and Paris last year and now its taken hold of Manila. Capes may not be the most practical apparel for the tropics, but their dramatic flair make them hard to resist. Designers such as Richie Bondoc and Harley Ruedas added a breathable spin to the medieval trend, creating armholes and making sure to show some skin despite the added layer of fabric.

High grades
Trend: Color-graded fabrics

It’s not quite tie-dye and not quite digi-print, but ombré is a color technique that’s equally eye-catching. This remarkably feminine method—where often very bright colors fade out up or down the length of the dress—adds an ethereal element to clothing. Albert Andrada, Raoul Ramirez, Philipp Tampus and Gil Macaibay chose to print this style on chiffon-like fabric to add softness to the clothing while Jaz Cerezo opted to make it the backdrop for her intricate cage dress.

Nature knows best
Trend: Nature-inspired details

With nature as the obvious inspiration, designers such as Philipp Tampus, Joyce Pilarsky, Jaz Cerezo and Edwin Uy took to the countryside for their creations and created designs that reference the exoskeleton of a scorpion, the wings of a butterfly and the climbing leaves of ivy. No worries, though: the craftsmanship of the outfits meant that the results were more Tinkerbell than George of the Jungle.

Black out
Trend: Head-to-toe black

Despite the bursts of color this season, black pieces were inevitable. Don’t expect any funeral outfits here, though. Designers opted to mix and match textures to add depth to the color monotony. Models wore the shade in variances of leather, lace, velvet, mesh and tough crinoline-like material.

In the loop
Trend: Knotted belts

Belts are a great way to anchor an outfit, but they can look too corporate when done the old-fashioned way. The solution? Belts that are looped and knotted instead of buckled. For this season, casual connoisseurs such as Veejay Floresca, Vania Romoff and Chris Diaz stepped away from long gowns and georgette fabrics, and instead paved the way for formal daywear.

Red hot
Trend: Scarlet

These designers don’t just mean red, but a brighter and more vibrant kind of scarlet. It’s the kind you won’t miss even in a sea of fuchsia or pink—and it’s stunning. This shade of red doesn’t come too often, for it can be too aggressive to the eye, plus it chooses a type of skin color to flatter. But worn with confidence, it’s guaranteed to make heads turn. Worn short in a distinct Audrey Hepburn style such as EsAc by AudieAE’s or through a fun and free halter-and-capri-pant combo such as Richard Papa’s, scarlet is simply a fun color for an outfit.

Loosen up
Trend: Anti-fitting tops

Loose is most definitely a new kind of shape and not the usual hourglass we are used to, but it’s a novel way of creating sex appeal. It connotes liberty and a certain devil-may-care attitude about form-fitting (and sometimes food-depriving) outfits. When done in white, it creates movement and gives certain freshness to the bearer. Jerome Salaya-Ang chose a petaled, blush tone for his rendition and managed to make it look modern and très chic. — BM, GMA News