SINGAPORE - There was a sustained campaign to bring sexy back at the 31st Star Awards on April 19.

Local Chinese entertainment’s biggest night out saw men fleeing the penguin colony en masse, tossing stuffy undershirts for chest-flashing looks and more daring colours.

Women overwhelmingly went for sheer or short skirts, dangerous necklines, bare backs and waist cut-outs, walking a high exposure tightrope that (kudos to them!) never tipped into gracelessness.

The parade of skin was a gear shift from last year’s more stolid affair, and a departure from the clean to creative looks currently crowding Hollywood’s red carpets.

A B-plot involved men and their relationship with ties. Some were infatuated, as in Chen Hanwei, who rocked a whole striped stack, paired with aviators, and YES933 DJ Tan Ting Fong, who wrapped a messy bunch under his collar in the manner of an overstuffed drawer.

Others were put off, improvising with scarves like Elvin Ng and Tyler Ten, while James Seah suavely ditched the collar and its tail altogether.

With the high volume of flesh and flash on show, who managed to stand out? The Straits Times rounds up the night’s best looks and best efforts.