Sure, this season’s offerings may, at one point or another, veer away from what is quintessentially ideal and picture-perfect  clear blue skies, outsized blossoms, spirited shades and playful prints. The appeal of pieces that instead dare to take inspiration from a gloomy day, the less-than-glamorous life waltzing around the city streets or cruising your way through bleak weather, however, lies in the brilliant patchwork that merges romantic frou (taken from ballet tulles and other elements dominant in Degas masterpieces) with functional sport, smart casual amidst fundamental aesthetic.
The no-frills, out-of-bed, fresh-off-the-hamper temperature set by the advent of stylishly streamlined Parka dresses, stripped toppers and Olympic references beautifully executed by influential fashion industry players like Marni, Dries Van Noten and Jean Paul Gaultier, among others, offer a new take on fashion which is anything but an anti-thesis to fashion. Consider the high-energy influx of sporty pieces to be a young and refreshing alternative that may appear simple, even homely, only upon first glance. Nonetheless, these revolutionary pieces stand out easily through ingenious cut, sharp and captivating shots of sporty elements and modern treatment to the timelessness of Spring’s neutral grounds. Inarguably, there is a certain degree of shock value to a courageous absence of theatrics and outright dismissal of deck fluff especially in a time when rainbows, ribbons and roses are most expected. But what draws many to the new attitude this year in fashion imposes lies in the idea that unorthodox ingenuity took real life, less-than-grand laundry room elements, spinning each to create a contemporary collection that chronicles what was once mundane into something of note.
(E-mail the author at bianca.salonga@gmail.com)