The first dichotomy or contrast at Prada's S/S 19 runway show, that took place yesterday evening during Milan Fashion Week, was the space: the industrial Deposito of the Fondazione Prada complex was indeed transformed by an intervention by AMO into a venue for performances.
The configuration was based on the classical spatial repertoire of the theatre with an acid green Terrace, a Parterre characterised by a graphic grid and populated with inflatable stools by Verner Panton (an exclusive re-edition of the 1960s piece, produced by VERPAN for Prada and already adopted for the men's show in June) and a Balcony.
The second dichotomy mainly referenced the clothes: Miuccia Prada stated indeed in a press conference that she was surprised by the contrast between people's thirst for liberation, freedom and fantasy, and at the same time the rise of a suffocating conservatism.
This could be applied to the States and to Trump's politics, but also to the rest of the world and to Italy in particular where the new populist government doesn't seem to have a real political programme and the political discourse is suffocated by violent and aggressive slogans by the Interior Minister using social media as his own megaphone.
Miuccia Prada didn't mention anybody in particular, but highlighted how she hates the way politics has been reduced to hashtags with absolutely no content.
The designer therefore wondered if fashion is being reduced to a series of hashtags as well and, though worried about the impact of simplifying the industry and reducing it to a series of mere slogans, she turned to simplifications in her clothes to amplify her political message.
Prada's preoccupations and the liberal vs conservative dichotomy materialised in the clothes and accessories for the S/S 19 collection as a play between opposite forces such as the casual and the formal.
The models opening the show walked down a runway marked by geographical coordinates (a way to geolocalise the audience and remind them where they were) wearing satin turtlenecks or swimwear inspired knitwear with a strap under the breasts matched with Bermuda shorts or with skirts wrapped at the side.
Girls in pristine coats and peacoats buttoned up to the neck and in duchesse satin A-line baby doll dresses followed, echoing a mix of designs by Courreges (circa 1965) and Cardin (circa 1968) with a touch of Mia Farrow in disquieting horror "Rosemary's Baby".
Then came the models hinting at liberation and freedom in fluorescent tie-dye circle skirts, cashmere sweaters with peepholes opening above the breast area and dressshirts with sheer panels.
Scenic prints of city-scapes called to mind Superstudio's surreal collages showing their Supersurface renderings (it wouldn't be the first time Prada makes such a reference), but in this case they were probably by OMA (Rem Koolhaas is a fan of Superstudio).
Large black sequins spread like a malevolent virus on some of the prints, erasing the details or covering up images of naked people.
The closing designs vaguely evoked in their silhouettes Balenciaga's more famous baby doll dresses, but they looked more functional, recombining in one dress the liberal and conservative juxtaposition by blending a plain shirt with a more elaborate puffed skirt with a large sequinned floral embrodiery.
Apart from dichotomies there were also fashion anachronisms in this collection: the thick and puffy hairbands covered at times with punk studs seemed indeed hints at the Renaissance (View this photo); the flat sandals borrowed from paintings depicting classical scenes, while the sock pumps (Miuccia's own interpretation of the sock sneaker…) evoked a world of cars and races, speed and fast rhythms.
The collection was accompanied by a new "Prada Invites" collaboration: for the occasion Prada invited globally influential female creatives to design a bag with the company's emblematic nylon fabric.
For this collection Prada called a trio of leading female architects – Cini Boeri, Elizabeth Diller and Kazuyo Sejima.
For the occasion Boeri designed a classic bag, while Diller opted for a sort of vest that can be turned into a bag (or a bag that can be donned as vest).
Sejima came up with a peculiar shoulder bag in black nylon with a series of smaller padded bags in pastel colours attached to it, looking like comforting toys with rather abstract shapes.
As a whole this collection wasn't maybe too interesting for the clothes, but for Prada's approach to the political discourse.
Will Miuccia ever turn her back to fashion to become a politician? Hard to say, but it is worth noticing that her feedback on collections has become more focused on social and political issues in the last few seasons.
Spike Lee and his wife Tonya Lewis Lee sitting in the front row last night represented indeed another contrast with the usual fashion world, conventionally more interested in using celebrities as accessories.
The filmmaker, writer and producer wasn't invited to the show as a brand ambassador or to take selfies like the other influencers, but to take part in a talk linked to "The Black Image Corporation", an exhibition (at Prada's Osservatorio until 14th January 2019) about the legacy of the Johnson Publishing Company and the way the images in its archives (by photographers Moneta Sleet Jr. and Isaac Sutton) have helped shaping the aesthetic and cultural languages of the contemporary African American identity.
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