The top 10 best trends of 2013

MANILA, Philippines - If anything, 2013 will be known as the year when we took a look at all the things that we deemed as unflattering for years and went, “Eh, why not?” From resurrecting ‘80s sneaker brands in the name of fashion to sporting the dark lipstick that frightened our parents in The Craft, it was all about having a little humor and not taking the business of looking good too seriously. While not all of these trends will make it into 2014 (good-bye, New Balance 574s!), we sure hope their spirit does: Embrace the ugly-pretty from time to time. Everybody hates the girl who always looks so perf all the time anyway.

Breaking out the sweats

There was a time when leaving the house in sweatpants and a sweatshirt was shorthand for “I’ve given up on life in general,” but ever since Humberto Leon and Carol Lim started embroidering giant tigers on their sweatshirts, we’ve turned the faux pas on its head and things just haven’t been the same since, especially when Kanye West just wouldn’t stop throwing a bitch fit over Fendi turning down his idea of producing leather sweatpants, which actually are a thing now. Ugh, Kanye wins again.

Sneaker freaks

Like last year, shoes were a controversial topic. If 2012 created a schism between people who hated and loved Isabel Marant’s sneaker wedges, this year the great divide was between people who embraced New Balance 574s, like Joey Samson and Leandra Medine, and the ones who didn’t, like former YStyle editor Bea Ledesma. Also, later into the year, Nike Flyknits entered the game and divvied people up further. However, it looks like neither sneaker will last into 2014, if the white, minimalist sneakers that appeared in Saint Laurent Paris and Michael Kors for spring/summer are anything to go by. Either way, sneakers still win over heels.

The discreet It bag

Or the anti-It bag, if you will. Like most trends this year, again it was Phoebe Philo who started it by deciding to eschew logos and release sleek, clean and minimalist handbags that didn’t seem to have any telltale silhouettes (like her best-selling Luggage Tote or the Givenchy Pandora) or signature hardware (studs on the Balenciaga Motorcycle, we’re looking at you). Other brands, like Louis Vuitton, Balenciaga and Proenza Schouler followed suit and issued similarly streamlined offerings. And if this year’s breakout handbag brand, Mansur Gavriel, is any indication, these palette-cleansing handbags are here to stay for 2014 and beyond.

Taking it to the streets

2013 was a big year for streetwear Filipino designers with their designs being spotted on hip-hop royalty, like Frank Ocean, Rihanna, Jay-Z, Beyoncé and Kanye West. California-born and London-based Filipino designer Shaun Samson was one of the first to make headway, followed by Filipino-designed streetwear labels, like Hellz Bellz, Crooks & Castles, and Illest. Of course, we can’t forget homegrown streetwear label Proudrace, which has stockists all over Asia, the US and Europe and was worn by A$AP Rocky, Grimes and DJ Alison Wonderland this year. Whether you identify with the subcultures behind streetwear or not, the trend reminds us that it never hurts to be little experimental from time to time.

This mighty art attack

This trend occurred to me while writing a piece about fashion and art collaborations for Rogue — more than any other year, these collaborations were way more popular than last year’s designer/high street partnerships. From the one-of-a-kind made-to-order sweatshirts that Benjamin Shine fabricates out of a single piece of tulle for Givenchy to Rei Kawakubo drawing all over Andy Warhol’s most iconic works for Comme des Garçons Play, a lot more people gained access to the once closed-off art world, through posts on style blogs or on the shirts off their backs.

So ugly, they’re pretty

Of course Ashley Olsen started wearing Birkenstocks as early as late 2011, but we only caught up when Phoebe Philo sent her $900 “fur-kenstocks” down the runway for spring/summer 2013. Ever since, designers raced to one-up each other in the ugly shoe department. From furry Birkenstocks, they ran the gamut to create their own takes on Adidas shower slides, Teva hiking sandals to Sun Jellies, the multi-colored jelly fisherman shoes from France. Though this trend isn’t likely to survive into mid-2014, we do appreciate that time in fashion when we could let our inner freak flags fly. We drew the line on Crocs, though.

In goth we trust

A likely off-shoot of the resurgence of the ‘90s, plum lipstick was actually starting to become a thing in late-ish 2012. But then, it exploded all over the fall/winter 2013 runways with models sporting wine, cherry and brick lips in the shows of Zac Posen, Meadham Kirchoff, Marni, Vera Wang and Veronique Branquinho, which set the tone for holiday makeup: Last Christmas, the ladies were all vamps. The look did give us a bit of respite from the predictable “classic red lip” that’s been so overdone in the last five years.

Caught in the midi

I think it was Jeane Napoles and her tight Hervé Léger dresses that did it. Enough of short hemlines that ride up our thighs and make us wary of sitting down, ever. Raf Simons heralded the call for ladylike dressing in his spring/summer 2013 collection for Dior, followed by Michael Kors, Marchesa, The Row and Jason Wu in fall/winter. We sported the trend, if not for ourselves, then for our mothers who had long forgone us as disappointments. Image from VOGUE.COM

Not-so shorts

Culottes, bermuda shorts, and as Leandra Medine called them, “low-slung, California-inspired board shorts,” were the midi skirt of shorts, with less of the ladylike tendencies. Almost every designer had their take on them: Alexander Wang went for egdy/structural, DKNY had a tomboy take and Proenza Schouler went total rich lady with the look. Falling just above the knees or three inches above the ankle, loose and fluid, they ensured we still looked good on our languid “off” days.

‘90s throwback

Tartan, plaid, Doc Martens, slouchy beanies, snoochie boochies, flannel, torn jeans, Birks, tube socks, Reality Bites — it all came rushing back to us this year, just when we thought it never would. Though he can be such a dick sometimes, we actually have Hedi Slimane to thank for bringing back the grungy ‘90s, especially with his spring/summer 2013 campaign featuring Courtney Love, Beck and Marilyn Manson. Roksanda Ilincic, Preen, even Chanel soon punked up their own colletions, but the stunt Phoebe Philo (again!) pulled with the laundry prints at Céline? Pure genius.