The time has come for Prada. This season they continued the slime trend like their past show. Like other collections these past few weeks, we see florals on display. Prada and Simons stated that they wanted the clothing to do the talking with this collection and that it did. Although it was a bit tame it still was done so in a very cohesive and attracting way. Shackets, bedazzled garments, and fringe were the big hitters here. They also said goodbye to their Design director Fabio Zambemardi
Moschino was a collection everyone was interested in seeing the outcome because this would be their first collection without Jeremy Scott. Done by four stylists, each one displayed their connection to the house or house heritage. Some pieces being influenced by 80s and 90s collections while others being interrupted in a way that connects to them and their personal style.
Blumarine was less in your face than previous collections. Stating that this season they wanted to be lighter. Quite literally as most of the collection was made of lighter colors and minimal compared to their norm. Angels wings were worn by many and the butterfly made her appearance. Though the collection was light and angelic you also see the spice.
Tom Ford was another exciting collection to see as this would be Peter Hawkings debut as the new creative director. Here we saw house staples, as far as back as the Gucci days which I loved. I was specifically obsessed with the all gold suit. Hawkings having worked with Ford he really brought out the looks everyone loves without being too nostalgic.
Prada, I literally love this woman forever and always I don’t care if I’m biased. This season Miuccia and Raf were inspired by uniforms. Quoted “give importance to what is modest”. Within this collection you can see nods to nurse and military uniforms. Being a year now since the war in Ukraine, Prada wanted to give attention to the front liners as last year’s collection was inspired by the events taking place. Displayed are garments you would see in WWII posters of women helping in the war, real life women. Gone is the beauty and glamour and here is the ugly and true. Perfect for Prada as they’re always known for their ugly-chic aesthetic.
Blumarine always understand what Y2K trend to bring. This season brought on the scene kid with metallics, shearling, and buckles scatter throughout the collection. A burning B in the background, Brognano was inspired by Joan of Arc. Taking influences from the Middle Ages and the 1999 movie “The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc”. Though one would think these three would work Brognano does a wonderful job at fusing all three aesthetic together to create the collection we have here. It continues to having the Y2K elements that the brand is popular for but with a more serious darker tone.
GCDS brought the suits. This collection mixed the menswear with womenswear. Everyone and their mother was wearing a suit or at least some sort of iteration of a suit. Maturity is a word I would give this collection because I feel the brand has grown from previous.
Day Three, Gucci. Now I normally don’t talk about Gucci often not because I don’t like them because I do. I can recognize that it’s a brand that release good items but not my style. That’s not the case this season. With the departure of Michele people are left wondering how Gucci will look now. Their new creative director, Sabato De Sarno, will not debut until Spring 2024 this collection I feel was a reflection. Mixing in designs and aesthetics from Michele and Ford, the brand showed that they are more than their creative director. This was noted as the staff came out and bowed at the finale.
Sunnei, of course I had to talk about them. Sunnei was quite literally a concert meets a runway show. By now you all might of heard of the crowd surfing moment. The show was a white rectangular catwalk high up so that you would look up at the models. At the end of the catwalk the models would then throw themselves backwards to be caught by the audience to crowd surf. Making up the models were the staff members of the brand as the designers believe they desired recognition for their efforts. The crowd surfing in a way was a hint towards taking a leap of faith or risk. Reminding everyone of just that. The collection on the other hand was very trendy. That’s it just trendy, the pieces will sell and be popular but the wow factor was more in the performance than the collection.
Jil Sanders looked to the 90s and 2000s for inspiration. Having a more simplistic approach this season the collection was very polished but at times made no sense. Starting with a moto inspired pieces then eventually ending in garments with fruit and candies printed on them. The overall collection was beautiful but also kind of left me confused. I will say that they were hit by the skirt over pants trend.
After what almost feels like a year from my last “Introductions” post, I’m surprised it took me this long to write about my favorite brand. My obsession with the brand started off as a joke. Being obsessed with fashion at a young age caused a lot of “The Devil Wears Prada” jokes with me. Thus creating interest in the brand.
Founded in 1913 by Mario Prada, the brand originally specialized in leather handbags, travel accessories, etc.Their first shop was called “Fratelli Prada”, translating to Prada brothers, was owned and operated by Mario and Martino Prada. There is where they sold animal goods, English steamer trunks, and handbags; something that was very common for famous brands during this era. Mario believing women shouldn’t run the company eventually passed the brand onto his daughter, Luisa Prada, when his son didn’t want it. (The irony of it all). Through Luisa is where we are given Miuccia. Born as Maria Bianchi on May 1oth, 1949 in Milan to Luigi Bianchi and Luisa Prada. She would later take the name Miuccia Prada in the 80s after being adopted by an aunt. Miuccia was the youngest of three, older siblings including Albert and Martina.
Surprisingly Miuccia had very little interest in fashion at the beginning. Graduating with a PhD in Political Science from the “University of Milan” her career did not push her in the realm of Prada until later on in life. She trained as a mime at the “Teatro Piccolo” and performed for five years, was a member of the Italian Communist Party, and was involved with women’s rights movements in the 70s. It wasn’t until the mid-seventies where Miuccia would take over the family business. During this time she met Patrizio Bertelli who had started his own leather good business at the age of twenty-four and would eventually become her business partner and future husband. Patrizio was the one to advised Miuccia on the end of steamer trunks and change the products of the brand. This is what lead us to the infamous nylon bags.
By 1979 Miuccia released the first collection of backpacks and totes made of nylon. This is the same nylon that was used as coverings for the trunks. Ten years later in 1989 the first women’s ready-to-wear collection would be released. This collection was known for their dropped waist and narrow belts. The brand would gain popularity for their clean lines and basic colors. Prada in a way is considered “Ugly Chic” mixing the old and new the ugly and chic. They are all about function rather than beauty. Towards the 90s is where Prada really starting gaining its popularity. With fashion in this era being loud and full of many colors, Prada brought the opposite. Being in a way, the ugly duckling which is what made them more interesting. A lot of earlier collections resonated with audiences due to the fact that it was perfect for the every day woman.
The brand continues being a leading force in fashion due to the juxtaposition in collections and overall aesthetic. Not just women’s ready-to-wear but men’s as well. Not to mention Prada Sport and Prada Linea Rossa. Prada Sport was sportswear line created in 1998 that now does not produce as much as before but is still in effect. Prada Linea Rossa has caught the eye of streetwear culture and is kind of what took over Prada Sport when Barrett left the company. As well as Miu Miu, which is viewed as a little sister to the Prada line (I’m obsessed with both). Other than clothing, the company has “Fondazione Prada” which is an institution devoted to artists in Milan. Raf Simons has joined the Prada team and we’re just getting a feel for what he will bring to the brand. With only a few collections from the duo I still don’t have an opinion on his impact but so far so good. The one thing I love about Prada is the variety in aesthetics, as someone who likes to dabble in all it’s nice to have a brand that does that in such a way that I feel compliments my personal style.
Christopher Kane FW 22 was titled “Sexual Selection”. This collection was full of “sexy” clothing but done in a more covered up way. With this generation having an obsession with all things sheer Kane showed a different side on how it can be done. Besides the sheer material the collection had a lot of harnesses and many fetish- like wear. Bringing the heat on even more. I loved the sheer dresses that laid over the body, kind of reminded me of an invisibility cloak.
Raf Simons FW 22 brought the cloaks. Simones inspiration for this collect came from the painting Netherlandish Proverbs by Pieter Bruegel. Look 1 directly mimics the center piece of the painting, the blue cloak being the first of the cloaks in this collection. As I looked at all the garments I saw different hints of the clothing mimicking those in the painting. Similar color schemes and aesthetic establish throughout. We are also introduced to some latex numbers, which I’ve noticed is very popular this fashion month, they oddly give off a sophisticated energy. This collection truly does exude an elegant feeling.
Erdem FW 22 really brought the 20s vibes that I thought a lot of collections would have at the start of this new decade. This was some of his inspiration for the collection, to be more precise, “interwar fashion” is what it was referred to. But reading further on some of the reviews Erdem stated that he was inspired by the nightlives of female artist from the 1930s. (Some referenced are: Jeanne Mammen, Elfriede Lohse-Wachtler, etc). He dreamed of what their looks would be when going to night clubs. There’s a lot more to the women referenced but I want to talk more about the garments. The sheer fabrics, the tendrils that almost wrap around the ankles, the sex appeal with a touch of elegance morphed in all the looks. I just love it all.
Marni Spring 2022 was all about direction and resilience. This is quoted by Francesco Risso when asked about the inspiration for this collection. It wasn’t about inspiration but more the direction and rebirth we’re going through as a world leaving the plague of a terrible pandemic. Stripes and daisies are common themes as Risso stated that stripes reinforce the idea of direction as they indicate where they audience will look. As daisies are commonly known for a resilience symbol. Daisies are flowers that when they’re planted in sunny spot will continue to grow for years to come. Risso dressed the audience as well in a sort of a “we’re going through the same situation” type of thing. Whereas other designers have created this glamour and escapism from the current world and having almost this wall between the audience and models. Risso chose to be authentic for this collection.
Prada Spring 2022 showed simultaneously in Milan and Shanghai. In Milan we saw the models walking by screens that displayed the models in Shanghai with the same looks and vice versa. Prada this season wanted to reinvent sexy on their own terms. With previous collections the last few weeks (and post) showing off all the sex appeal Prada brought a different take to the table. As stated by Miuccia and Raf, they decided to title the show ‘Seduction, Stripped Down’. As people are much more familiar with the items and garments that are target as sexy we see here that Prada took those ideas to create their ‘sexy’. Whether it be a sweater that cups around the breast to show their natural shape or a dress where you find out the back is cut so low that you see almost a hint of lingerie. It’s the art of seduction and tease, almost seeing something but giving a little to flaunt your sexiness. Along with the sweater this collection brought us mini skirts with a train as well as beautiful leather jackets that were styled as the top piece on the model instead of having a shirt or blouse.
Versace Spring 2022 brought us Dua Lipa not only has runway music but as a model as she is the current muse for the brand. (This show also had Naomi Campbell which I was freaking out about.) The show started with all black looks as Dua walked first in this black suit and safety pin moment. As we progress further we’re hit with bright neon colors and an array of basketball like jersey’s, bikini tops, as well as scarf tops. Certain motifs in this collection were definitely to be aimed to the TikTok/Gen Z generation as many people of that audience love Dua Lipa (she does have some good music). We see bright neon suits for men and women, letterman jackets in reds. With the finale being Dua in a hot pink signature Versace chainmail look the brand is notoriously known for. Rumor has it that Dontella, Kim Jones, and Silvia Venturini Fendi, will be doing some sort of collab collection tonight to close off Milan Fashion Week. So, I’m very excited to see what’s to come.
Continuing with the theme of juxtaposition, Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons bring another collection quite similar to the previous men’s show. The show’s themes are as follows; transformation and change. We are introduce to the lovely knits we saw in the previous collection combined with black silhouettes that have the knitted Prada triangle on the back. There’s a plethora of rolled up sleeve suits paired with patterned knit long sleeve turtle necks. Giving very early 2000s girl boss vibes. An array of fur coats that either have a different patterned lining in the inside or a hint of sequins. Along with the fur coats are fur bags. Look 10 was very Prada-esque in its simplicity and power in that simplicity. The coat with red gloves and white leather knee high boats gave an almost Cruella De Vil influence without being too costume-y.
Venturing off we have more furs in wrap styles and of course, coats. Going back to the coats with inner sequins, we see that the sequins have different colors for each corresponding coat. Overload of sequins with dresses and mid-calf boots. The boots giving off the “hard” in the hard and soft look, the soft being the fur or knit. Along with the knits, similar patterns in the knitted jumpsuits and sleeves were used in the inner lining of the bombers we saw in the last collection. A black bomber paired with a red and black pattern and the dark brown bomber paired with a blue and black pattern. The main highlight of the show were definitely the coats. Ranging in colors and textures. The yellow being put together with a black bag and gloves while adding periwinkle thigh high boots for a little bit of contrast. This yellow that Raf and Miuccia are loving. After these bright hue of coats we move on to black loose fitting jumpsuits paired along side a knitted pattern displayed differently on each one. Look 37 and 41 gave off a sort of 1930s/1940s working woman style. The others gave a more slight 80s vibe. Following are the knitted long john’s paired with long opera style gloves with the signature Prada pouch. The gloves differencing in pattern to the knitted piece, almost as a way to feel the overwhelming-ness that is life in a pandemic.
Finally the show ending with three sequins coats. One in a forest green button up to the top styled with a light blue turtle neck and navy slacks. Referring to the theme on juxtaposition amongst the collection. The other two as follows; wider lapel brown sequins styled with a red turtle neck and charcoal slacks, and a metallic double breasted coat styled with a gray turtle neck and black slacks to finish off the show. Prada’s reimagining of what life would be after the pandemic is constantly evolving and it’s shown in both collection. With men’s feeling like we are adjusting to the pandemic world and women’s having a new since of hope because of new vaccines coming around. You can see in this women’s collection a small display of fear with the model clutching a wrap on their chest. Possibly fear of uncertainty or maybe even an emotional crutch. Nonetheless Raf and Miuccia are doing a wonderful collaboration with displaying hope in their collection.
Tati Violet 