DENIM by (clockwise) Fear of God, E Tautz and Andrew Pompilio.

Fashion is a kind of language, and as we know it, style is the ultimate form of self-expression. This 2019, the fashion industry will once again celebrate individualism as we welcome the new year with trends that will continue to radiate character and confidence.

Fashion expert Christine Benet, who is also the chairperson of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB)’s Fashion Design and Merchandising (FDM) Program, revealed next year’s style necessities based on giant trend forecast website World Global Style Network (WGSN).

With over 250 trend experts and data scientists catering to an immense number of insights and inspirations on fashion, lifestyle and retail, WGSN has become one of the best trend forecasters in the world.

MAXIMALIST pleated skirt. Benet explained that the prevailing 2019 trends deals with how Generation Z present themselves. “Streetwear and opulence combined with graphics will continue to be the vibe next year,” she stated.

“Generation Z, the demographic cohort following the Millennials, is the most tech-savvy, social-media-dependent and very much into self-expression. The combination of their high awareness of what’s fashionable in the West and patronizing Instagram-famous brands results to the opulent, very Rococo-like streetwear, similar to what Gucci and Fendi have released recently,” she spilled.

In the men’s market, streetwear will level up with hi-lo styling, where luxury pieces are paired with more casual clothes. Denim will once again exhibit youthful attitude with room for playing around with volumes of oversized garments and twists on established shapes.

Meanwhile, knits will prove to be a refined year-round must-have.

In the women’s shelf, zip-through sweatshirts with dropped shoulders and relaxed silhouettes will give a nod to masculine dressing and the classic rugby top will make a comeback with elbow-length sleeves and wide collars.

Streetwear in general will continue to break contemporary design rules through “bad designs,” illustrating the banal and the mundane with subversive low-definition graphics, blurred photoprints, distorted logo lockups and pixelated and stretched typefaces reminiscent of the pre-digital 1990s.

Also from last year’s spring/summer trends were ruffles and ribbons, which will continue to make a statement this year, but with a more simple yet sophisticated touch. Must-haves are tie-waist knot details and stylized ruffles that accentuate asymmetrical fronts and silhouettes.

Layers, too, will once again reign the runway and the stores with maximalist pleated skirts, deconstructed wrap dresses, dramatic paneled dresses with extra-long ribbed cuffs and central rib panel and graphic garden sweatshirts with chiffon overlay that elevate the style.

RUFFLE dress featured in “Vogue China.” Despite the highlight on opulent and graphic streetwear, Benet, speaking from a merchandiser’s perspective, advised that other spring/summer 2019 trends such as laces, craftwork, hats, bows, beige and tutti-frutti colors will later on be broken down based on market segment by age and financial capability. “Most people will follow the streetwear trend, but there are market segments in the Philippines that will stick to minimal, more conservative directions. They will pick up certain trendy details, but may only apply it minimally,” she reiterated.

Benet clarified that what may be popular in the international runway may not be applicable to the local industry. “Given that we are a tropical country, we mainly get inspiration from spring/summer collections of fashion houses,” she noted. “Fall/winter pieces do not work well here in our islands given the short shelf and trend life so we will not see much of it when the year opens.”

For those who religiously follow Pantone’s Color of the Year: Living Coral is the general color of 2019, Cavern Clay is hot in interior design, and Fiesta is for the wardrobe. “Fiesta is much more appropriate for our country given that our weather only goes around Spring and Summer,” Benet shared. “It will very much be reflected through streetwear with all the graphics and details that most Filipinos are into right now.”

Benet with the rest of the fashion industry experts and educators in DLS-CSB maximize WGSN to ensure that the FDM graduates are equipped with different tracks they wish to explore both in the local and international scene.