Through their shared menswear collections, Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons have studied the fundamental components that shape our wardrobes: dissecting archetypal clothing to understand what it means to get dressed for the now.
“We always talk about reality, and we, as designers, are very aware of what is happening, the problems, the difficulties. It is a complicated moment in the world – and we react to it,” says Mrs. Prada.
Through their latest collection – dubbed Let’s Talk About Clothes – the duo sought to create an imbalance between “reduction and simplicity” with ideas around “comfort, exaggeration, and intimacy”. As Simons explained post-show, minimalism – in terms of both clothing and environment – is “very quickly perceived as cold and distanced. We want to do the opposite”.
A play on contrasts, Fondazione Prada was stripped back to resemble a low-roofed concrete bunker, which when the show began, swelled to become a cavernous, brutalist hall with giant, art deco chandeliers, before shrinking again for the finale. “Proportion can transform perception,” read the show notes. Like the space, the collection was devoid of overt decoration. Suits came slender and worn bare-chested, with fragments of bright-coloured knitwear and detachable, pointy collars printed in archival Prada prints – which Simons described as “gestures to Prada’s past”.
The pair sought to challenge the “stereotypes of outdoor fashion”, cocooning bomber jackets with echoes of couture silhouettes and equipping parkas and duffle coats with heavy hoods. Working uniforms have been a reoccurring fascination between the pair. Here, they channeled blue collar aprons through brown suede dresses and fashioned bags from what looked like steel industrial flooring. Simons spoke of the collection having a slight futuristic feel – “but 1960s retrofuturism, which feels very Prada”.
Like the pillows Prada sent out as the show’s official invitation, some models wore plain, padded vests and jackets. These felt protective and familiar, designed to cushion the blows of everyday life. “The most honest thing we can do is to create something useful for people today – to face reality in,” says Mrs. Prada.
Photography courtesy of Prada.
