“We exist in an era of extreme information, immersed in a constant stream of content,” read the show notes for Prada’s Spring/Summer show at Milan Fashion Week. You weren't alone if you felt the collection was hard to keep up with. Bonkers, unpredictable and downright discombobulating, Prada had fun with the idea of algorithms. With rapid trend cycles leaving the next big thing just one swipe away, some of our wardrobes may resemble a costume cupboard. MiucciaPrada and Raf Simons paired multiple nonsensical styling decisions with oversized goggles and helmets to push the look from strange to superhero. The show was a total exaggeration of the current state of fashion and how it morphs itself from our screens to the streets.
In the dimly lit Fondazione Prada, teal cloth hugs every inch of surface. Ominous techno music fills the room as the first model appears in a floral dress. It would be delicate if it weren’t for its straps, wire-bound and reaching to the ceiling like sinister fingers, hanging off one of the model’s shoulders. Unsurprising from the brand that pioneered Ugly Chic, the second look is a BDSM-inspired dress that falls at librarian-length just on the knee. The brand proves it can still do sexy with kinky harnesses linking drop-waist knee-length skirts. It balances out the frump, keeping it fresh and lively.
Known for simultaneously heralding the ugly and the sublime in one look, models storm down the runway in brightly coloured tights with a built-in low-waisted belt. The colour palette is eccentric and equally irregular – a flash of mustard, orange, hot pink and deep violet punctuate neutral greys, navies and blacks.
Within this fever dream of pattern and chaos, fidelity to the brand’s evolution is sewn throughout. The show is punctuated with nods to the archives. The white shoelace motif echoesMiuccia Prada’s Fall 2016 white corset look, which left a major imprint on the fashion industry and set a trend for wearing corsets outside clothing. Peeking through on the hip of a pleated, navy, knee-length skirt and in a separate look on some round-toed, block-heeled court shoes, this was just one of many signature brand revivals of the show. The garish graphic shown on a librarianesque skirt was a nod to Fall 2012’s well-received kaleidoscopic jacquard suit. Footwear was a funky whirlwind of blasts from the past. Platform brogues from Spring 2011 reappeared in rainbow and stack-heeled, colour block, platform Mary Janes from Fall 2012 resurfaced galoshed.
It’s hard to know what to make of such a meshing of worlds, and this is exactly the aim. In typical Prada fashion, Prada and Simons subvert our expectations.
