Fashion Week posts start…now.

Last Sunday, Philippine Fashion Week SS 2012 started off with a bang with amazing line-ups from Human, Kashieca and Bench.

Human. I was really impressed with Human’s show. From the music that kept the audience tapping their feet to the styling that was really unexpected, to the collaborations with SMEs like Gold Dot, DAS, Soule Phenomenon and bone accessory brand OS, everything was just commendable.

The styling though, is for me, what stood out most. Human was able to mix florals and color with just about everything. They used flowers as headdresses (think Rosalinda but more fashown), they made buff men wear floral maxi skirts, they had veils and masks that were perfect for All Hallow’s Eve – the vibe was both playful and costume-y. I had a blast watching Human’s show.

Black Human. Black Human is another line carried by the famous brand. And the clothes here are a bit edgier and, you probably guessed it, less colorful – more blacks, grays and whites. The styling here was, again, impeccable. Layers and layers of monochromatic pieces were kept fun by gas masks and neon goggles. In terms of clothes, unlike Human’s floral pieces, stripes were the only prints you would find. There were a number of wide legged pants and sheer pieces that would be perfect for the summer. Way to go!

Kashieca. From Human’s edgy-fun to girly-preppy, Kashieca started the collection with a walk by girl-next-door Bea Alonzo. A series of frilly, pleated knee-length skirts and chunky knit tops paired with socks and heels were reminiscent of a prim and proper lady. Hues used were blacks, whites, grays and reds. Again, there were wide legged pants, which I personally loved, and  a few rompers. The styling was clean and neat – the kind that reminded me of a tennis player, actually.

Randy Ortiz for Bench. Bench did a good job getting Randy Ortiz to do a collection for Bench.  Randy, who used to do collabs with Kashieca, decided to take on a different challenge and work with Bench instead. Despite going all RTW with all the shirts and polos, Randy stayed true to himself and made sure his stamp – a stamp full of paisleys, polka dots and stripes – was on each piece. The segment was star studded, by the way. It had Rayver Cruz, Belle Daza, Julia Montes, Kim Chiu, among many others, to walk the runway. Again, colors were mostly black, white, gray and red. Randy did a good job making all the little printed details subtle in the pieces. The result? A balance between RTW and couture.

Bench. Well, this show was really star-studded. It seemed like almost all the models who walked the runway were celebrities – from Georgina Wilson to Borgy Manotoc to Cath Bernardo, Melai Cantiveros, Jason Francisco, Enchong Dee, Angelica Panganiban, and Piolo Pascual plus a few real supermodels like Pauline Prieto and Ria Bolivar. I’m telling you, it was full of celebs. Not to be distracted by stars, the pieces shone as brightly, sometimes even literally with those shiny gold bow ties. Polos had interesting colored trains with half sheer detailing. Sheer maxi skirts appeared a lot. But of course, it wouldn’t be a Bench show without their famous polos and t-shirts. So those appeared a lot too.

Bench Body. the last show was Bench Body which showcased different, beautiful pieces of underwear. But my date and I didn’t take pictures of those anymore. Partly because we were uncomfortable taking shots of naked people. Also partly because we were running out of memory space. haha

So…we just took a picture of ourselves.

Thank you so much to the beautiful Patricia Prieto for being my date <3 Had loads of fun with you. We should party soon. (yes, Pat. Party. hahaha) love you <3

Also, thank you very much to Lawrence Cua for the invite 🙂

Do I think that it was a good idea that these brands kicked off Fashion Week? Absolutely. Great job! 🙂