Friday, December 28, 2007 Metallic reunion By Clint Hilton-Potestas
‘Tis the season to be metallic. And after its sabbatical leave in your closet, metallic colors resurrect with vengeance—collaborating with an indispensable color… black.
In a runway show at the North Wing of SM City Cebu, metallic united with black to achieve the classic-chic statement. With a surprising spunk in the bodice and painstaking trimmings from the members of Fashion Council of Cebu, now who says black is boring?
“Black is a tested color in fashion,” said Edwin Ao, the fashion stylist for that show. “Although for next year we’ll see brighter colors, black will never be out.”
With interesting trimmings on the straps and on the bust area, Arcy Gayatin’s metallic lame gowns are forgiving to the body. The A-line cut seems to buoy along the movement of the wearer.
“I also observed that black is a ‘slimming’ color—any body type can ‘fit into it’,” Ao said. “It’s paired with metallic colors because they’re the current trends.”
Cary Santiago keeps it simple: jersey long dresses with subtle cut-outs. Minnie Yuvienco never changes the formidable tandem of black and white. The metallic concept was driven through a minimal draping on the sides.
But Oj Hofer experiments more. Bold draping, appearing seamless, dominates his construction. Albert Arriba, however, stays with stiff draping: formless and abstract.
The unlimited draping that black can execute has also inspired international designer Donna Karan.
“Whatever the season, body, or occasion, I love black; (it is) so forgiving. I can put any accent to it—whether bright or metallic colors,” she said on the Barbara Walters Show.
In her Fall 2007 fashion show, Vogue magazine and Style.Com writer Nicole Phelps describes in her column how Karan accentuates the darkest color: “The interplay of matte and shine (the stretch satin cinching wool) was the highlight. She adds taffeta decorating the bust, and jackets in organza.”
