The Religion of Fashion: Mapagpalaya or Mapaniil?

One month from now, sartorial virtuosity will be accumulated in 5 days. The kingdom of appearances will be celebrated by a court of fashion industry people, dominated by a sea of silhouettes which are patterned by geometric planes and fluid waves - made buoyant by architectural severity on feet.

(My brother and I last season)

While I was planning on what to wear (yes, this early) I kept on thinking: is Fashion really mapagpalaya or mapaniil?

(Givenchy Haute Couture FW 2010-2011)

People assert their individuality through their clothes. I like to defy silhouette and fluidity so my "trademark" has always been a scarf and multiple layers of accessories since I was in high school. (tried to tame it down in college unless the occasion requires). I had this houndstooth capelet made last fashion week just because I like the silhouette it creates.

Through chictopia.com and lookbook.nu, we have seen a lot of fashion icons emerge. The internet has allowed fashion bloggers to inspire other people and shatter their chains from being slaves of the ordinary. We assert our individuality even to the point of being actualized. A vision is created and displayed through our clothes.

But there are these temples around the globe which houses the likes of Aliona Doletskaya (Russia), Alexandra Shulma (United Kingdom), Franca Sozzani (Italy), Carine Roitfeld (France) and their head deity, Anna Wintour (United States).

These gods together with their creative directors dictate what to wear from this seasons military style to the smallest details like more studs, bolder shoulders blended in with a return to minimalism. With their blessing, new designers are catapulted immediately high up the bejeweled fashion ladder.

Here in the Philippines, fashion shows don't start without Pauline Juan and Sari Yap. We were dressing up the models for a fashion show last season and we had to sacrifice the planned schedule because Pauline Juan wasn't done inspecting all the clothes for the runway. They are dictate through their inspirations from the west, what designers here in the country should do.

(The team of Preview Magazine)

From the runway, these designs will trickle down to trend-stealing-unoriginal-black-holes-of-creativity stores like Zara and Forever 21. (Although we need them) And here comes a shopper who wants to assert her individual style as a chic power bitch who'll purchase a Givenchy-patterned leggings from F21 and a Chanel-inspired bolero from Zara, never knowing that these trends are dictated and their quest to assert individuality is just an illusion.

But of course, there are those Herculean fashion icons who are stoic or at least adapt effortlessly to these waves of trends. They are those who live by Yves Saint Laurent's words "fashion fades, style is eternal" and I hope these modern day heroes of individuality will continue doing what they do best - staying fierce and fabulous.