Philippine Fashion Week (Photo by Noel B. Pabalate)

MANILA, Philippines -- In its efforts to highlight the “evolving styles of contemporary menswear,” Philippine Fashion Week (PFW) Holiday 2011 presented a menswear showcase  of “strong geometries and silhouettes that express the sensuality and grace of the modern man.” For this season, black seems to be the predominant color, shared by most of the show’s 12 designers.

Anthony Nocom

Nocom says his collection consists of pieces that “exude the clean and crisp look” that uses “cotton and some knit fabrics to produce slim silhouettes that emit classic yet expressive ensembles.” He materialized this belief into lightweight and light-colored suits together with jackets, vests, zip-up tops, buttondowns, and bottoms such as pants and shorts that give off “sleek, relaxed elegance” in mostly white ensembles coupled with black pieces.

Bang Pineda

Pineda’s ensembles come in black, coupled with printed suit jackets and pants together with gradient tops in hues of gray. Some of Pineda’s tops may be hard to ignore as they have large, circular cutouts highlighted by metallic hoops placed on them. His bottoms are usually wide trousers or carrot-style pants, and a few pants and shorts that have a print with a color mix of gray-ish blue depicting an urban setting. Suspenders and bowties were the key accessories, as well as white leather shoes with thick soles. Some of his black suits also had white buttonpins.

Dodjie Batu

Batu’s collection, mostly revolving around a black to gray color scheme, feature pieces which seem cerebral as he tried to give menswear a twist. One of the first things we noticed in his line is a suit whose both sides had carefully placed slits that provided room for a woven (perhaps leather) scarf to be inserted in. Another one we noted is a seemingly unconventional robe-like suit jacket. His tops are mostly lean fit, with some which shoulders have woven details, too. Meanwhile, some of his bottoms tend to be tight. Batu’s accessories included suspenders, caps, and some black, woven bags.

Frederick Policarpio

Policarpio may be getting some Christmas cheer in mind as he presented clothing in red, white, gray, and black. He has made some checkered suits and buttondowns that are in the said color hues along with plain gray suits. He also showed simple, shiny tops with gray details, as well as slim fit pants. Accessories included glasses with black and red frames, maroon knitted bonnets, and white or black shoes with white or black trimming.

Drei Soriano

Soriano defines his collection as “Japanese-inspired” dedicated “to today’s fashion-forward males” to be “the middle ground between formal and street wear” through “structured pieces that can be easily translated to everyday menswear” with “a mix of cutouts and tailored pieces.” By using materials such as faux and real leather, along with cotton and linen, Soriano has presented an array of various clothing, like jackets whose shoulders can be exposed via zipper, among others. His pieces came in cobalt blue, black, gray and camel and some ensembles were accessorized with studded boots and fur trimming.

Jinggo Inoncillo

Inoncillo’s collection, Fire, Charcoal and Ashes, is inspired by the “concept of heat and its aftermath” in the colors of “black, charcoal, ash gray, and touches of red.” His pieces are rendered in utilitarian shirts, trousers, lean fit buttondowns, jackets, and a poncho. He explains that he utilized “pleating, smocking, subtle draping, trapunto details and asymmetric coloring applied to light wool, rayon knits and sanitized cotton blends” which resulted in clothes that are “relaxed, masculine, and contemporary.”

Melchor Guinto

Guinto’s collection, Renaissance Man, gives tribute to Jose Rizal, Leonardo da Vinci, and George Washington—“influential men who changed the country and the world”—through a “luxurious yet down to earth” line for the modern non-complacent man. Guinto used gray, black, white, and maroon in his color palette and featured short jackets, zip-up jackets, buttondowns, scarves, and patterned tops with embellishments such as metal.

Nico Agustin

For Holiday 2011, Agustin’s The Metal Hare takes its cue from the Year of the Metal Rabbit. By going for an overall look that is “soft, cozy, and casual,” Agustin hopes to channel the rabbit’s inherent meekness and calm character into clothes perhaps fit for a collegiate or school setting. For one, he has white and black shirts with colored sleeves such as green and blue. Other tops include salmon-colored ones and easy styles in gray with blue trimming and olive green jackets paired with lean fit pants. The pieces, according to him, are crafted out from cotton stretch, rayon, and Italian cotton in green and blue.

Odelon Simpao

Simpao’s collection, Black Hole, at a glance seems like a generic gathering of black and gray clothing which are minimalist in every sense of the word (no ostentatious visual detailing and no accessories save for pairs of black shoes). “Dark and edgy,” Simpao says that he was inspired by the “profound” mystery surrounding a black hole, which in turn he gave his “own unique interpretation” to.  Consisting of buttondowns, pants, and jackets, his mix-and-match pieces are aimed toward male, “fashion-forward” young professionals. “I made use of cotton tulle, denim, Italian wool and Suisse cotton in black, grayish black, gray and silver to create an array of body-skimming pieces and [drop crotch] pants.”

Jesson Capuchino

Capuchino has opted to cross breed fashion by combining the “stiff and conservative British aristocracy” with “the expressive boldness of Shibuya street fashion” in his latest collection, Shibuya Crossing. By combining UK elements (such as English military and navy uniforms up to the British crown regalia) with Japanese adventurous sartorial creativity, Capuchino produced a series of slim pants, shorts and tops (some striped, styled with blue suspenders) accessorized by scarves and different hats such as a beret. There are also military style jackets and light jackets with piping.  The color palette revolves around black, red, and blue. “I made use of special twills and denims, single jersey and cotton terry, high density cotton poplin and flat knits,” he says, and toyed around “with lengths and layering.”

Ulysses King

It is back to the ‘70s for King in his Contempo '70s collection in black clothes that play with vibrant colors and details such as tassels, metal buttons, among others. “Using black as my base color and dark chocolate brown, teal, blue and rusty orange as accents, I created a selection of separates made from suede and velvet corduroy and added key embellishments such as scarves, bow ties, and metal zippers,” he says. With some ensembles paired with blue or orange shoes, King declares that his works result in “a striking variation of looks that exude glamour and style no matter when and where you wear them.”

Zxander Tan

In his recent collection, Tan hopes to give homage to “hardworking men” from different cultures who excel in their own ways—“from the Eskimos and the Chinese fishermen, to the Tobi construction workers of Japan and Korean farmers.” Easy to move with clothing is the norm, in “a combination of simple, structured patterns and loose, comfortable silhouettes.” Evidence: a series of “loose shirts, easy-flowing jackets, hoodies, trench coats, vests, and jumpers in black, gray, silver and red” that use “silver denims, knitted wool and linen” to ensure “ease of movement.”