Candy colors take center stage at student fashion show
MANILA, Philippines - With everyone shedding layers of clothing in the sweltering summer heat, the boundaries between tastefully revealing and super skank central are concomitantly blurred. Women’s magazines everywhere are currently having a field day defining what’s sexy and what’s shoddy in celebrity summer apparel. Thankfully, in this tropical country, we come across a group of young designers who have managed to define what’s acceptable and aesthetically pleasing in summer fashion, while drawing inspiration from the season’s coolest flavors.
The highlight of the afternoon: a themed fashion show where young designers from the School of Fashion and the Arts (SoFa) showcased their own interpretations of new candy brand Rio Mints’ different varieties.
Models strutted down the makeshift runway in fresh and feisty creations by designers Nico Aquino, Mikka Velasquez, Tatenda Sipula, Geoff Zordilla, Dan Duran, and Kaye Morales. The invigorating taste of Honey Melon was translated into Aquino’s feminine beige dress with green accessories and Zordilla’s light chiffon dress. Velasquez’s body-suit-and-maxi-pants combo and Sipula’s cocktail dress were both easy on the eyes and very much representative of the tongue-tingling tartness of Pink Grapefruit. Morales stuck to one flavor, Burgundy Grape, and managed to produce varying designs that any gutsy yet glamorous girl would love to own. The Green Tea and Peppermint inspired menswear ensemble by Sipula, as well as Duran’s luxurious, long dress, proved their limitless talent in both women’s fashion and menswear.
Rio Mints’ new flavors were also welcomed by this sartorially-gifted bunch. Zordilla’s fashion forward dress-within-a-dress and Duran’s statement-making Bohemian harem pants paired with a much toned-down polo conveyed the sweet yet exotic flavor of Juicy Lychee, while Sipula’s purple and orange gown and Aquino’s floral tent dress brought the Cool Jasmine Peach flavor to life. In the end, resounding applause rife with excitement about the future of Philippine fashion rang in everyone’s ears.
