REFRAMING THE ENDLESS SUMMER VIBE

Dressing up and fashion trends have long been characterized as a way to enhance a vibe – a means, so to speak, for one to augment a mindset and mood.

A recent fashion event here in Cebu hyped up this aspect to fashion by charging sharp design delineations as outriders that speak of the coming of summer – one which drew all sights to the Spring/Summer 2024 collection of celebrated Samar-born designer Puey Quiñones. Staged on March 7 at the 2nd level of Rustan’s Ayala Center Cebu, the show mainly featured pieces that’re part of a capsule collection which Quiñones made in collaboration with Rustan’s.

Primed as an unveiling of pieces which the designer had been conceptualizing for everyone’s favorite season of any given year, the collection can be described as a solid follow-through of last year’s wellreceived holiday themed collection which Quiñones also crafted with the Philippines’ premier retailer.

Collectively, the pieces presented at the event brought the ideal combination of boldness and fragility together. Each tailored to form with aesthetic elements that’re drawn from the principles of patterning and draping, the pieces also emblemized how a well-curated utilization of embellishments can amp up designs.

As a summer-themed fashion show, the event was a bit different from most of those that’ve previously been held in Cebu since it took on the season’s sartorial traditions by steering clear from the at-times-restrictive-points that’re drawn by poolside couture and resortwear/loungewear themes.

Argyles, plaids, florals and design motifs traditionally associated with wet-season weather were given beachside treatments in the show, and this framed it as style-inclined metaphor that draws prominence to the fugue state that sits between season-inspired designs and themes. Elements of traditional Filipiniana couture were also entwined into the collection’s ritornelle. As Quiñones first solo show in the metro, the event drew certain parallels to how Cebuano designers are integrating summer’s easy-going vibe as an “accessory” that accentuate moods and themes.

In this case, the show framed the endless summer vibe as vibe that can be worn throughout a year.