I’ve been attending Philippine Fashion Week for about two years now. While most people go for the clothes, for me it’s always been more about the spectacle. I love seeing what people wear just to attend the shows; it’s their chance to be a bit more avante garde in their fashion choices. Whether or not they look like a freak show is a different story. Hrhrhr.

I also love seeing how every show’s director can present the clothes and models in a different way. While the most usual change-up is the shape of the runway and the lighting/music arrangement, at the Resort Collection with Ipanema show on PFW Spring/Summer 2011’s Day 3 the director did more than that. Instead of the standard gait and pout, all the models who strutted their stuff looked and acted happy, skipping down the catwalk in their Ipanema flipflops and swimwear, sundresses, and leisure wear.

they’ve got happy feet

Although some of the designs from various designers were predictable and/or inappropriate to be worn with flipflops and open-toed footwear, I loved the flipflop and sandal designs because they were colorful and looked like so much fun to wear (I blame the models!).

I’m not sure if they’re the current styles offered at Ipanema retailers (such as Shoe Salon), but I will be checking them out, particularly the women’s sandals. I need casual footwear that doesn’t look like tsinelas; I don’t often wear heels and I need to wear open footwear to allow my feet to breathe, especially after workouts and runs. Yet I still want to feel a bit more dressed up rather than looking like I just stepped out of my bathroom. “If the shoe fits, wear it,” people say, and I think Ipanema footwear definitely fit with my lifestyle and fashion choices.

By the way, I was photographed at the Ipanema event; my look was featured on Stylebible.ph’s PFW S/S 2011 Day 3 gallery. I guess I wasn’t one of those who looked like freak shows, yay!

photo by Stylebible Digital

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