The amount of discourse that follows a Prada show is remarkable. Online, hundreds – perhaps thousands – of voices immediately begin hypothesising about the meaning of what most have only just witnessed through a livestream. From biased criticism to outright fanaticism, the reaction speaks to what Miuccia Prada, and now Raf Simons, do better than almost anyone else in fashion: they create intellectual discourse. Everyone wants to be part of the conversation.
Yet, for all the instant analysis, keyboards poised as each look appears on screen, theories are only truly tested backstage, when the design duo offers its own interpretation of what has just unfolded. This season, above fluorescent lights and along a clear plexiglass runway, came skintight camisoles and oversized belts, cropped jackets and matching leather trousers.
Prada signatures were recalibrated, most notably through silhouette. Knit sweaters, themselves cut close to the body, extended their collars beyond their usual limits, exposing flashes of colourful shirting beneath. Skinny jeans arrived in shades of burgundy, pink, yellow, and white. A Peter Pan collar on a green leather jacket and a pink leather vest felt particularly Prada – here, an adjective.
The Frankenstein sunglasses, asymmetrical and different on each side of the face, were instantly screenshot and dispersed across social media. While their inspiration is still being debated online, Mrs Prada spoke backstage about seeing reality through new lenses, the eyewear serving as a thinly veiled metaphor for that shift in perception.
A perforated set echoed the runway on which it walked: translucent enough to reveal what lay beneath. In this case, not only the model's body but also the garment's construction, modelled after a classic denim trucker jacket. Exposure became both an aesthetic device and a conceptual gesture.
Again, as it does almost every season, Prada arrives at ideas that few others would think to pursue, let alone articulate through clothing. The clothes matter, of course, but so does the conversation they provoke. Few brands understand that distinction. Fewer still can sustain it season after season.
Words by Pedro Vasconcelos
