Friday, January 09, 2009 Ligth year By Clint Holton P. Potestas
LET there be light.
Because 2009 promises to bring in the lightest of fashion delivery, harden not your heart. With this style prophecy, salvation comes to Oprah Winfrey and to all women who have the “hour-glass” shape.
Like unloading emotional tension on New Year’s Eve, loosen up the sheering on your little black dress. Serious draping will out number beadwork. In knotting or in gathering, let the fabric fall according to gravity, suggests Pierre Angeli master designer Philip Rodriguez who also runs Filippo, a ready-to-wear boutique in SM City Cebu Northwing and Ayala Center Cebu.
Shown in this feature are Philip’s interpretations of style 2009. According to him, his inspiration comes from the harem (refers to the sphere of women in a polygynous household and their enclosed quarters, which is forbidden to men).
Despite his objectives to change the season’s fashion, he still used the one-sided sleeve, a trend last year, to match his tapered pants (think Princess Jasmine of Aladdin).
Soft-textured fabrics, like chiffon and charmeuse, dominate his casual pieces, detailed with minimal hints of ruffles, a trend before 2008 bade goodbye. Fringes in lighter shades are coming back after their big wave in the movie Chicago.
Purple shades will be in bits; aquamarine will dominate. And fashionistas will have to go for elegant tones of blush, beige, and copper—no bright and acid colors, please.
The glittery items may wane. “Draping will be big in 2009, but it is constructed in such a way that it is soft and feminine. Yes, there would probably be beads, but not so much—just hints,” Philip shares. “Plus, draping, if done in the right way, can hide unwanted curves.”
But even before the trend, for more than 20 years, Arcy Gayatin has maintained her devotion for soft jersey draping, saying: “Anybody can wear jersey.”
Never mind Madam Auring (a local fortune teller) if she has her own fashion forecast, but most designers have once again veered toward a conservative direction: less is more.
French couturier Sonia Rykiel wants fashion to be easy on the skin and on any body shape, thus naming them “comfort clothes.”
Recalling her introduction of ethnic and disco trends with bell bottoms (thank God they’re tapered now), fashion editors considered Sonia’s new range of clothing “a surprise.”
“When I did my 2009 collection, I loved so many things. For example, I love to do colors, considering the choices of fabric. I need to be impulsive—every moment. It’s not mathematics. It’s not scientific. It’s just like poetry, like the way you make a novel,” Sonia says on Fashion Nation TV.
“It’s very difficult for me to speak in English. It’s impossible to speak in French. I have to love completely what I am doing. The sweater is part of my soul, and knit is sweet.”
But Sonia’s colleague in the 70s, Vivienne Westwood, hasn’t conceded—perhaps, she hasn’t gotten the hang of Sex and the City.
“I thought Sex and the City was supposed to be about cutting-edge fashion, but there was nothing remotely memorable or interesting about what I saw. I went to the premiere and left after 10 minutes. I haven’t decided on what to put together in 2009, but really, I can’t be simple in 2009,” says Vivienne, who also designed one of the wedding dresses in the movie.
Now, like what we did before ending 2008, swear on your Manolo Blahnik that you’re not wearing any ill-fitting style for the entire year. Make it a habit, my dear.
