August 24, 2015 |
Uniform: a distinctive set of clothing intended to identify the members of a specific group. The Prada show was, it must be said, very evocative of the idea of uniform. Not in the school- or work-uniform sense, but more in the uniformity sense. This was stark. A collection of separates in black nylon, something hinted at with the invitations: black nylon squares. Think of this as a return to more traditional tailoring. Classically cut coats and jackets worn with tailored trousers in sombre shades. The only lightening of colour coming from the cuffs, rolled up to reveal a flash of white. There was a utilitarianism to this, a functionality further emphasised by the introduction of women to the catwalk, who were essentially dressed in the same coats, the same jackets, as the boys. This isn’t gender-bending in the sense of guys in ladies’ clothes and vice versa. This feels more like a social commentary, a reflection of what is happening in the streets, where the traditional lines of what differentiates a man’s wardrobe from a woman’s wardrobe are being blurred. Where the prevalent mood seems to be more geared towards a functional aesthetic. Or maybe it’s just simply a case of, as Mrs Prada said backstage, “Uniform, severe, elegant – this is the fashion I like at this moment.”
Photographer: Jason Lloyd-Evans
