THE WINSOME, frolicking mood of today’s winning leisure-time looks reminds us of the lost world of idle pleasure immortalized in the streaks of genius from those who truly wander.
An inch-tall, immaculate white and piped with metallic gold figurine of the Holy Infant Jesus of Prague is still perched on my desk at home, a travel souvenir Arcy Gayatin gave me after she side-tripped to Prague in her second Europe tour some four years back.
Whenever the fashion designer traipses the world—New England, Paris, Chicago—the coats she wears become the statement coats to wear for us, following her on Instagram.
So when she raised the curtains at the Glitterati 8: “Style Take-off” at the Northwing of SMCity Cebu last Aug. 18, a knee-length plaid jacket dress cinched to the waist heralded the entry of travel frocks I imagine she would wear to her next destinations.
Along with fellow designers Protacio and Edwin Ao who also directed the runway blockings, the venue was organized into an airport to usher in the launch of Cathay Pacific’s new flights.
An ensemble of black and white, Gayatin featured her prowess in fine tailoring, a drift opposite to her supremacy in draping that she is most beloved for.
White cropped trousers were paired with a black mullet blouse styled with striped scarf.
She chopped off the sleeves of the coat to render a casual element of the blazer in another look. Wide-legged pants, ankle-length as well, were made of a luxurious embroidered fabric in black.
Gray skies were hovering the entire pieces from Ao—who is, if you stalk his Facebook account, in Singapore.
Shades of gray were distributed deliberately from tailored-fluid renditions to layering and still going (T-shirt plus blazer). The silhouettes were
sewn away from the body. Perhaps, with too many violations of privacy online, he provided the protection: no skin, all long sleeves, and pant hemlines to the floor.
Protacio, meanwhile, travels back to the Medieval period. Long and puff sleeves gown provided the mood of his collection. Decorated with embroideries of floral patterns, the items did represent the kind of romance he believes in: subtle, classic, and a little fairy tale-ish. Like Gayatin and Ao, he also offered ample covering. He sent hemlines to the floor, too, but exposed a little skin through the manipulation of tulle mesh.
“I wanted to play with texture and contrast so like wool was paired with tulle as I attempted to layer structural cuts on fluid gowns,” he said. “A men’s jacket did not come in single fabric but instead I mixed brocade with a check patterned wool plus denim.”