New and improved

IF THEIR collections were a package, Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren would have wrapped them in the best way they know—a little outlandish but pretty. Yet, thanks to them for bringing back a fresh spot in a rather oft-repeated sense of style.

Bouffant cut, floor-length hemlines—surely, cuts that would win grandma’s approval. But with the duo’s love for extremity, you might want to think twice about that. “With the credit crunch and everybody cutting back, we decided to cut tulle ball gowns,” Snoeren said, during the launching of the company’s 2010 Spring collection.

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If this idea sounds like a good choice, you’ve found your graduation ball dress.

On that same fashion show, Nicole Phelps of Vogue magazine noticed the changes. She commented on Fashion News TV: “The gowns he was talking about came at the end of the show. The skirt of a crystal bustier dress was a solid mass of net ruffles, except for the place where a hole had been tunneled front to back and where the edges were chopped away. “

Another frock was “sliced in half” with a good six inches between the top and a bottom that seemed to defy gravity. Some might be just good to look at in a fashion magazine, but with the right attitude, they could be just fine. “Many of the cocktail dresses that preceded the finale, though, did look like they could pass in real life.

These married masculine bits of tuxedos and ultra-femme color-blocked pastel plissé, with the remnants of the duo’s tulle hack jobs frilling a shoulder, tracing the length of a sleeve, or decorating a bodice like a flower,” Phelps continued.

She added: “The designers also dipped into Spring’s lingerie drawer, coming up with silk satin bed jackets, camisa, and pajamas with peek-a-boo lace insets.”

Meanwhile, designer-to-the stars Georgina Chapman of Marchesa hasn’t given up on class. For her latest version of the ball gown, she intricately sewed lace cutouts on silk satin, taken inspirations from the opera piece, Madame Butterfly.

Draping, as always, was Chapman’s mean of answering women’s concern on body issues, which she styled with kimono wraps and horsehair ruffles. It is a collection that most of her clients—to mention a few, Diane Kruger, Kate Beckensale, and Penelope Cruz—love the most.

“Do you know what? I don’t actually know, but I’m so glad they do,” said Chapman on why celebrities have chosen her line.

“Well, Chapman might not be able to quite put her finger on it, but she clearly knows better than to mess with the unmistakable and ultra glamorous bones of the look,” fashion writer Meenal Mistry reviewed. “Rather, it’s something like the breathtaking Grecian draped column partly masked with carefully beaded black lace—simple but exquisite.”

Cebu has also the answer to this demand. The recently concluded fashion show of Ronald Enrico, Reveal, at the Grand Ballroom of the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino in Lahug on Feb. 14 (photos used in this story) featured a couture execution on formal wear.

And it’s clear that the concept is foregoing trends for luxurious statements that reflect their essential aesthetics—and so should you.