Fashion Day at The Ramp in Glorietta 3, Makati City last night had started out slow for me. Had I felt like shopping, I would’ve browsed through the racks and racks of stylish goodies that are within my reach but my mind was already programmed that I was there to work and that’s it. Silly me. How can one possibly be so un-interested even just to window shop esp since she’s surrounded by all that fashion? Gah. I guess I was just too parched, too tired, and too early for an event that started an hour late.

Prepping the latest for the Summer season, The Ramp - Crossings had rounded up their house brands:

Faith Hope Love
Abracé by Donna Cuna-Pita
United Pop by Richie Ortega
Wildflower
Amber
Lucca

The event, which included a fashion show showcasing their Summer-worthy creations, was hosted by TV personality, JM Rodriguez. The Summer campaign has taken on a local fashion sensation Teresa Herrera, also known for being the host of Project Runway Philippines, to be at the fore-front.

What can only be described as vivid daywear brights, fluid silhouettes, and dynamic prints on bold-coloured canvas, the collection encapsulates what Summer fashion ought to be — fun, cheery and colourful.

Note: Apologies for an incomplete photo set on the fashion show. Apart from stupidly opting for the kit over the 50mm, someone had this brilliant idea of seating “VIPs” in places where they shouldn’t have been seated. I don’t even want to publish these photos cuz I really don’t like how they turned out but arms are sorta tied. /sighs

Along with a fashion show, The Ramp dishes out the top 10 trends for Summer 2009.

1. Jumpsuits
2. Citrus
3. Luxewear Boho
4. Strapless
5. Short
6. Glam Swimwear
7. Floral
8. Sheer
9. Chunky Gold
10. Statement Shoes

I’m kinda’ so-so on the citrus and “glam swimwear” is too general to be understood by the fashion noob. I think ’swimsuit cut-outs’ as they’re fondly called, may it be strapless, halter or tank-style, is a version of the one-piece that ends up sorta looking like a two piece with accents, fabrics holding them together. Of course, these things look gorgeous and not something, er, home-made. As for Floral, they’re pushing for a mix of peony-slash-paisley-sort-of floral, so don’t go thinking that the Hawaiian flora print is hot. It’s not. Sheer is so fitting for the warm weather, don’t you agree? Basically, the over-all effect that The Ramp is going for is glamour. For them, Summer is all about glam. Anyway, I’ll leave it up to you folks to further translate these trends by checking out the stuff they have at The Ramp (Shangri-La, Podium, or Glorietta).

The Ramp carries consigned brands like Cole Vintage (which I met one of the co-owners who had recognised Scarlet, the Cole Vintage dress I wore to the event — Hi Eileen!), The Dressing Room and Possibility for shoes, plus a number of other local (and foreign - Singapore, Malaysia) fashion brands.

Lastly, Fashion Day won’t be fashion day if there’s no fashion involved. Uh, for me, that is. Treated to free shopping at The Ramp, one of my dreams have finally come true. I’ve finally gone shopping for free! LOL. I managed to bring home one of the Lucca strapless pantsuits/jumpsuits in Teal and a Nectar frock in blue grey. I had considered getting accessories or a pair of shoes but I thought it’d be great to own some stuff from The Ramp’s house brands, all are local, btw. I can always enjoy the perks of the Crossings VIP Shopping Card later. I’m glad that the locally-made RTW can be this stylishly affordable. The pantsuit retailed for Php 1,645.00 and the frock, Php 845.00. Not bad, considering these pieces are fantastic (then again, I may just be biased since they’re personal choices, haha).

Btw, apart from the clothes, I did a bit of beauty shopping on the side (yes, there are cosmetics in The Ramp!). I bought falsies, mineral lipstick and lip gloss from the beauty brand Eyes Lips Face aka E.L.F. I’ll feature them on a later post.

Photos © 2009 Sasha Manuel