SM jumps into the realm of global menswear trending

MANILA, Philippines - Retail giant SM held its Men’s Fashion Department show last week for Philippine Fashion Week. Six or seven different collections were exhibited, ranging from casual summerwear to all-out formal ensembles. The idea behind the entire collection, says the show’s stylist Luis Espiritu, was modern tailoring. “We wanted to infuse soft and ‘hard’ looks into the collection with a range of practical pieces for day to night dressing as well as casual to formal dressing,” he says. In general the collection was an attempt to transform the off-the-rack retail look into something bespoke.

With plays on color and strong graphic prints, Alphabetica opened the show with a youthful yet edgy vibe as teenage male models walked down the runway in statement tees and bright jeans and slacks. Next up was Modern Urban, which had the most European feel of the entire collection — street chic made more sophisticated by accessorizing with scarves, hats, and accents of colors on hemlines and sleeves. Metallica came next with shiny fabrics combined with “tough love”-looking tees and tanks, which would hopefully inspire the modern male to bring out his inner rock star. Corporate dressing with color was the theme for the High Street collection, which spiced up the usual somber grays and monochromatic suits and officewear with indigo, bordeaux and dark teal jackets and accessories. Formal wear came with an interesting slant in the Return to Glamour collection which had both men and women strutting in form-fitting tuxedos with interesting twists on silk scarves, cummerbund colors, and the classic bow tie.

Overall, SM showed its design range which included athletic wear (modeled by members of the UAAP, Socceroos and the Azkals) with actor-athlete Derek Ramsey opening the segment and even a modern twist on formal dressing with their Noir collection that added “dandier” accents (like cabbage roses and knee-high socks) to plaid and check-printed outfits. So, for that modern male stylista in search of laidback sophistication or blazing summer brights, take a trip down to the SM Menswear department.