Yes, Spring is a time for more youthful looks and colorful frocks – and while Miranda Priestly thinks florals for spring is groundbreaking, there was no shortage of these dainty prints on the runways.

However, it’s the quirky-girl sort of style that really got us quite excited for Spring 2013. Yes, there were lots of elegant dresses, and flowy, luxurious ensembles that are bound to set the trends next year – but we can’t help but smile and get giddy at all the oddball fashion we saw. Zooey Deschanel will be totes happy. 

Photo: New York Fashion Week, compiled from vogue.co.uk

At New York Fashion Week, we saw prints, prints and more prints – and we’ll see more as the other fashion weeks rolled on. At Karen Walker, we saw cute white polka dots on a short periwinkle one-piece dress under a sheer nude sweater – paired with a buckled, natural hat and penny loafers. Ruffian was all pink punk with a pinstriped sports coat, short skirt and bubblegum chucks. Of course, we can’t talk about quirk without Betsey Johnson (who celebrated her 70th anniversary with a bang amidst her shocking filing of bankruptcy – you go girl!). Meanwhile, Marc Jacobs gave us a familiar face by the name of Mickey. Yup, I think we let out a squeal when we saw that cropped number!

Photo: London Fashion Week, compiled from vogue.co.uk

London Fashion Week gave us Kinder Aggugini, deliverin’ some country lovin’ with a jumper dress adorned with dainty swallows and flowers, worn mismatched over a blue gingham short-sleeved button down (mismatch prints really are a big trend this season). But it’s Mary Katrantzou, Queen of Prints, that really had us quite hooked on this ideosyncratic takeover – with prints inspired by postage stamps. Really, you can’t get any quirkier than that.

Photo: Milan Fashion Week, compiled from vogue.co.uk

…Or could we?

At Milan Fashion Week, Versace was still all sexy with a short, belted orange number, but when inspected closely, reveals wrinkles and patterned slits – a rather DIY twist that gives it a sort of artsy feel. Bottega Venetta and Prada both gave us simplistic floral prints with a hint of librarian chic; the former giving us a more conservative nude one-piece, while the latter a bit more daring with hot pants and lots of texture (and did we mention Prada had absolutely adorable boxy handbags and thick-rimmed specs that had similar minimalist floral prints? LOVE.) Then there’s Moschino, which took the 60′s Vespa and turned it into absolutely lovely pieces – a totally fun, flirty and youthful way to revitalize a queer retro icon. All their accessories were all kitschy-cute  (rounded white-framed sunglasses, biker-helmet sort of hats), but it was all the large stripey goodness – a recurring trend this season – that really stood out.

Photo: Paris Fashion Week, compiled from vogue.co.uk

Finally, Paris Fashion Week. Keeping up with librarian chic is Rochas, with a slinky mid-length ensemble, clean and textured, belted for a curvier silhouette but keeping its demureness with a crisp white collar and bag. The white-framed sunnies and flat lace-ups add that trendy quirk. Rick Owens, on the other hand, gave us a more caricatured look – with geometric hair (which kinda reminds us of exaggerated Rei Kawakubo hair, to be honest) paired with a loose, shapeless top and a floor-length sheer skirt, this look has peculiarly pretty written all over it.

Spring is all about rebirth, they say. With September marking the new year of fashion, this new slew of looks lined up for 2013 seems to have declared fashion’s new muse: give those sky-high heels and constricting silhouettes a break and embrace your inner quirky girl with a rad pair of sneaks, mismatched prints a whole lot of attitude.

Put on your battlegears, folks – New York Fashion Week’s Spring Summer 2013 has called the shots and gladiator sandals are definitely back!

Photo: Compiled from Vogue.co.uk

And they’re not just back, but they’re back with a vengeance. We’ve been seeing a lot of them knee-high and powerful, as with Versace’s nude number, or shin-covering and front-laced at Proenza Schouler. 3.1 Phillip Lim did a more demure version of that, coming up just a couple of inches above the heel, while Altuzarra’s was an all-natural brown (we love the criss-cross details – very rustic and true to the actual antique footwear).

The winner in this battle, though, was Alexander Wang – With his minimalist aesthetic, his knee-high, close-toed gladiators took the footwear to the future with its clean-cut sleekness, matching his sharp, glow-in-the-dark collection.

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Looking at the current Autumn/Winter Haute Couture collections, a certain color pairing caught our eye. While soft, sorbet and pastel colors were still big this season, we love how pinks and blues were deliberately paired together!

Photo: compiled and edited from style.com

Elie Saab and Versace went the subtle route, with small details over their choice base color (navy details over a very soft, old rose at Elie Saab, fruity pinks over baby blue at Versace).

Photo: compiled and edited from style.com

Chanel, on the other hand, employed it in various techniques, from irregular checkerboards in muted pinks, blues and grays, to metallic dégradé and accents.

Photo: compiled and edited from style.com

Other fashion houses opted for different saturation levels – Jean Paul Gaultier, for instance, was all soft and muted with powdery blue-greys and muted peaches. On the other side of the spectrum, Maison Martin Margiela was all brights with the pairing, with a bejewelled Bondi blue mask and draped dress in rich salmon.

Photo: compiled and edited from style.com

The pairing was most prominent at Armani Privé, however – from a color-blocked cardigan, to a pair of models gliding down the runway, decked in soft shades of this season’s power couple color.

So how are you planning to wear this pretty pair this coming season?

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With the Haute Couture Fashion Weeks in full swing over at the other side of the world, let’s take a quick look at the top trends in Menswear at the recently-concluded shows for Spring/Summer 2013:

Photo: Collected from TheFashionisto.com

And it’s all sweet, soft pinks with a boyish sporty edge. (Weren’t we just talking about taking color risks, guys?)

From soft, powdery blush varsity jackets at Miharayasuhiro, to soft pink tunics and strappy sandals (with religious Madonna prints) at Givenchy, it looks like Menswear’s spring and summer will be sweet as cotton candy. On the other hand, the sporty construction and styling lend a boy-next-door appeal to these peachy, coral and fuschia sorbet hues.

Dude! Sweet!

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We’ve spotted the trends from Holiday 2012, so now you know what you can start wearing in the next few months. However, there was one slightly recurring theme that we felt deserved a little extra attention, and we think will be bigger (or at least, should be bigger) not just in the coming months, but hopefully in the next seasons as well.

We’re talking about traditional Filipino fabrics like, Piña and Jusi. Piña fiber (literally, pineapple) is a fiber derived from the fruit’s sinewy leaves, extracted by hand and woven with silk or polyester. Jusi, on the other hand, was once made from abaca or banana leaves, but is now manufactured with silk organza.

These fabrics are typically used in traditional garments like the Barong Tagalog, however, during Philippine Fashion Week Holiday 2012, three designers – Fanny Serrano, Jaki Peñalosa and Veejay Floresca took it to new and exciting directions that had us all clamoring for more.

Philippine Fashion’s iconic makeup artist and fashion designer Fanny Serrano (whose collection we briefly talked about in our Grand Allure review) delivered an ethereal collection of purely-piña creations. Voluminous and interestingly European-inspired, Serrano gave the traditional fabric a cross-cultural flare, combining the local material with Western aesthetics. Though extravagant and dramatic, his pieces were very wearable, such as his piña poncho with matching cowl neck, and his playful, short dress with a sculpted volume skirt. His matching hats will make for very interesting headpieces to wear to weddings, as well.

The pride of Iloilo, Jaki Peñalosa is known for her crafty takes on the local fiber, and this holiday season, she showed us how the traditional material can be worn as a fun, hip dress. Her 10-piece collection was a bevvy of sweet outfits, from a belted knee-length dress in a loose fit (we love the form that the collar gives, and the embroidery on the skirt), to a sexy, paneled bodycon dress with a diagonal strap cutting across the decolletage, to a full-length slinky dress with a low neckline. These pieces look absolutely perfect for dinner dates, evening engagements and other dressier occasions – we’re pretty sure they are going to scene-stealers.

Menswear-inspired pieces have been a big trend the past few seasons the world over, and Veejay Floresca followed suit with his Holiday 2012 collection – but with a distinctly Filipino twist. Taking the traditional Barong Tagalog, Floresca updated the menswear garment into sleek and sassy womenswear, fusing it with leather, lace and styling it with various interesting layers. Fabric blocking it with lace sleeves and pairing it with trousers and cut-offs, or cutting it to form an embroidered skirt, Floresca breathed new life into the Barong Tagalog. As a belted one-piece dress, he totally redefined the item, inspiring us to wonder where our proud local fiber will find itself next.

We’re definitely optimistic that this new trend is only the beginning! Hopefully this inspires more designers to look at our own rich heritage and find ways to incorporate them in our modern consciousness.

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Photo: L-R Alexander Wang, Bally, Marc Jacobs, Lanvin, Costume National and Dior Autumn/Winter 2012, collected from thestyleexaminer.com

These days it’s all about mixing and combining things to make something totally new, and it looks our favourite fashion alchemists are seeing a totally hybrid future. Fashion giants such as Marc Jacobs, Lanvin and Dior featured fabric-blocked pieces in their Autumn/Winter 2012-2013 shows, adding some much-needed flare to the usual menswear staples.

We’re seeing this slowly pour into our local fashion scene as well; different brands and designers have been experimenting with using different fabric panels and color-blocking within a single garment, and we are nothing but EXCITED! Can’t wait to see how this will turn out in the upcoming Philippine Fashion Week Holiday 2012!

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from Alexander McQueen A/W 2012 from millionlooks.com, Christian Louboutin from polyvore.com and Rodarte A/W 2012 from searchingforstyle.com. Background from stock-photoz.deviantart.com

Say goodbye to the dainty, girly wedge, or the severely sexed-up stiletto. {Style Studio} predicts the future of footwear to be hard-edged and bold – and we like it!

We’ve been seeing a lot of shoes getting a hardware makeover on the runway; from chunky, simple Mary Janes updated with big bold buckles and steel heels in Michael Kors Autumn/Winter 2012; to full-on buckled, zipped-up boots in Reed Krakoff’s Autumn/Winter 2012 collection. Christian Louboutin has been giving their trademark scarlet-soled heels a studded, spiked makeover as well, while Jeffrey Campbell and Topshop shoes are taking inspiration from the boys with multiple manly buckles. Derek Lam’s Autumn/Winter 2012 collection, on the other hand, featured more of the business-inclined, menswear-inspired leather laceups and oxfords, but still pumped up with the season’s metallic toe caps.

from Photo: Top row – Jeffrey Campbell Tripoli shoe, Topshop Adonis Buckle from demicouture.ca. Bottom row – Michael Kors A/W 2012 from stylefrizz.com, Reed Krakoff A/W 2012 from searchingforstyle.com, Derek Lam A/W2012 dfashionidea.com

With the summer sun slowly giving way to the first showers of the rainy season, we think we’ll be seeing a lot of these heavy footwear take center stage. Not to mention these chunky hardware shoes look absolutely epic paired with structured rainy day blazers and heavy raingear!

Wonder if we’ll see a lot of similar looks on the runways of Philippine Fashion Week Holiday 2012? Less than two weeks left! We’re so excited!

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Photo: L-R, from beafashionshark.com, thefashionpatrol.com, trendland.com

We always thought we’d rather die than to sport the infamous mullet of the 80’s, but the universe has a way to surprise us all. The hair-raising hairdo has managed to reincarnate itself as fashion’s hottest new thing – in the form of a fun and fresh new skirt!

Short in the front and long at the back, the currently hot silhouette is also known as the high-low or fishtail skirt. It’s been making sporadic appearances in the fashion and retail world for quite a while now, but recently – most notably in the Spring/Summer collections and after – the mullet skirt has become quite the new cut of choice on the runways. Big names such as Jason Wu, Gianfranco Ferre and Alexander McQueen all showcased the mullet skirt in various applications, from minimalist and origami-inspired (Ferre), playful yet chic (Wu) as well as sheer and dramatic (McQueen).

On the local forefront, October’s Spring/Summer 2011 shows saw designers craft different takes on this new and exciting silhouette as well. Bo Parcon made it immaculate in a flowy white number, while Sassa Jimenez turned up the volume in a puffed-up soft pink number. Pablo Cabahug brought the drama in a two-layered fishtail, while Russel Villafuerte took cues from the military with lightweight camo. With its youthfulness and unique shape, we think we’re going to see more mullets in the coming seasons.

Photo: from philippinefashionweeklive.com

The print and patterns this season are not to be enjoyed only by women. Leave it do Dior Hommes to make bird print look not only masculine, but edgy and sophisticated. The collection boasted tailored pants, military inspired parkas, long jackets with bold collars and even caps adorned with a less than subtle bird print. We don’t know how, but it works. We are thinking that more and more men are going to be playing with bold prints and patterns as the ladies currently are. Come on men, jump on this, or rather, fly with it.