Saturday, June 23, 2012

Get Moving

Stepping into the future of fashion...
Josh Peskowitz by Tommy Ton for GQ
One of the most liberating things to do is to break your own rules. For quite sometime I've stuck to believing that wearing jeans with sneakers that are meant for the gym, running or anything ultra sporty was an easy entry into fashion loserville. 

Ironically, I had been madly in love with Nike Prestos as a kid and I remember pairing my orange ones with really baggy olive cargo pants and a white sports shirt. Back then I felt so impressed by how it looked, but in retrospect, some major editing would've been better for me (and for the poor people who've seen that look). That was when I was in fourth grade, when MTV still had some say in how people dressed and when hip hop was about those midriffs, tight tops and really ballooning trousers and sporty kicks. Some two years ago, I had given myself the order of going for the classics, which were mostly workwear, rugged, Americana fare that, from the looks of it today, is on its last final glory days. 


Maybe symbolic, how those chic wingtips are fading in the background...
Or it's just me.
Tommy Ton for GQ
After that trip to the States and those pretty liberating times that I've went out in New Balance sneakers (which I have abused, obviously), some four dollar sweater that I love and jeans about to bid me goodbye, I realized that what I've also been mad in love with about the States is the carefree, wear-what-you-want culture they have. When I got back here in Manila, I had completely loosened up  and started wearing jeans with Nike Lunarglides and actually started liking how it looked. For the longest time I've burdened myself with so much pressure to stick to some rules I've mentally legalized for myself and have realized that I'm way too young to not have fun dressing up. Not to mention awfully pretentious to actually care that much. And so goes the ultimatum for me, that in the very near future I plan to do an overhaul in personal style, which entails not necessarily going all over sporty just because--as you can see, some street style icons and cool guys are starting them, but to stick more to my top most rule in style: wear whatever feels and fits right and whatever I want to wear. 

But I have to admit, I am happy to see where fashion is taking men in the near future (fashionspeak, means Spring 2013). For some, it might remind them of those younger times, like the post-grunge 90s when an athletic look was more hip than not. For some, this is the future. When I saw Valentino's Spring 2013 collection and witnessed how a dapper Clement Chabernaud (fig. 1) -hair slick back in an easy do, a fairly classic yet current cut on a black jacket atop a buttoned-up white shirt, black trousers, marched down the runway in what seemed like New Balance-looking sneakers (without socks), I was floored. And there were more to love from that collection: puffy baseball jackets spliced with different colors and textures, sleek windbreakers in the most handsome of hues, buttoned-up short sleeve shirts that ballooned and more. Valentino was a treat, comparable to a squeeze of lemon in a glass of ice cold water. It was refreshing.

(fig. 1) Clement Chabernaud
Valentino Spring 2013





Seeing the Josh Peskowitz work his bright Nikes to Pitti Uomo was confirmation enough that this is where fashion is sprinting to. Hyper hues such as orange peeking from military tones at Andrea Pompilio (fig. 2) and also at Christopher Raeburn (fig. 3)-which, by the way I am crazy about cause of those stunning outerwear items, seen alongside the vibrant colors all over Pitti Uomo including the best ones from Richard Nicholl made for a memorable and exciting Spring 2013 so far. 

(fig. 2) Andrea Pompilio Spring 2013



(fig. 3) Christopher Raeburn Spring 2013



Richard Nicoll Spring 2013




It might be the influence of the upcoming Olympics (these sporty looks slowly sprouting from Pitti Uomo,)and while these collections are for next year, these designers have unconsciously drank in the fact that the 2012 Olympics is to be held soon, just in time for the release of their 2013 collections. Or it could've been a natural progression of what I see as the evolution of trends for menswear. It was probably back in 2009 or 2010 when the looks were more inclined to recline (like how Dolce & Gabbana and Salvatore Ferragamo had gone nuts over sleepwear) and in 2011 to 2012, men started going for outdoorsy looks that sort of reflected a state of mind of work and toil and the idea of physical labor. And for next year, it feels somewhat easier to just keep moving from the state of physical work to physical improvement in terms of fashions that are athletic and which celebrate the mobility, competition and triumph in sports. It's also possible that maybe designers have grown weary of the same old Americana, 1940s-50s vintage vibe that has been on a high for quite some time now.

Whatever philosophy fuels this growing trend for 2013, it's proof that times change and so do the rules in style. To incorporate some points from these awesome 2013 collections is a good idea, not just for myself but for those of you who appreciate it and find the beauty in the urban, athletic feel of these looks. While the trends wave towards the perked up Nikes and the hulking buttoned-up shirts for next Spring, it doesn't mean that just because it matters now everybody else should get on the varsity team and start playing sports just for fashion. It will always depend on the wearer and if it suits them right. Maybe some have already lived the sporty chic style for a long, long time and to them this is no trend but a way of life. Maybe some swear by the more classic styles of the great American icons, but what fashion teaches us---and this is truly the exciting part about it, is that you are always allowed the chance to change it up a bit, break some rules, try on something new for fun and in the spirit of sports, just get moving!

We'll see if the rest of Spring 2013 is as sport as these ones.

(all fashion show photos from Style.com)

-Gerard

3 comments:

  1. Or maybe they have realised that streetwear is far from what they offer on catwalks after ~30 years of blindness ;)

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  2. I think last time when the haute couture descendent to the chainstores in various (good/bad, not the case here) interpretations was the 80's, just cause it was adaptable at all for daily use ;)

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