BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS! EXUBERANT and fun! Rose-colored outlooks for spring! Sounds like the polar opposite of these challenging, bleak economic times. But it?s precisely these ?depressing? moments that call for inspiration. I say, bring out the fun side in you -- it?s time to lash out at the somber mood and let that creativity out of the box.

In fashion, a little bit of fantasy and nostalgia could bring out the good mood and the much-needed fun during these times. And that?s exactly what was brimming at the Spring fashion shows of Sonia Rykiel, Vivienne Westwood and Marc Jacobs, three designers who are reminding us to look at the bright side. Literally.

And so down the runway walked candy-colored tops, rainbow-bright balloon skirts, taffeta mini-dresses, feathery halters and floor-length tiers. In fact, Sonia Rykiel?s show paraded the likes of Jean Paul Gaultier, Emma Watson, and ?la Dolce? Dita Von Teese, on a rose-colored runway covered in flowers the color of her dresses. Some models even conga-lined into the audience.

One designer who?s a bedfellow of every wild child is Betsey Johnson. There was no crisis in her show either, where Captain Jack Sparrow served as her inspiration behind the collection. Well, with that wild hair festooned with ribbons, Cap?n Jack and Betsey could?ve been fashion soulmates. Her models wore hoop-skirted dresses in kiddie-nursery prints in dizzying shades.

And what era comes to mind when it comes to illogical, crazy style that somehow works other than the ?80s? Yes, it?s not just Manila that is obsessed with the ?80s, now it?s back with a vengeance and a punk prom-queen twist. Polka-dot knit dresses and quirky prints in magenta and blue, round-shouldered jackets -- the ?80s is big this season, but in a collection that otherwise inspired a serious case of déjà vu, the balloon print, at last, was something we?d never seen before. Yes, big shoulders and disco leggings are coming back too, from Iceberg by way of Norma Kamali and Azzedine Alaïa. Again, bright brimming all over the place.

It?s all about fun, fun, fun this coming summer. Besides, why get all gray and gloomy when the sun is coming out in its full spectrum? It?s time to take pleasure in the happy side of fashion.

Email the author at jfashion@inquirer.com.ph.