Nowadays designers have got to be really careful when they release a product or a collection since a particular inspiration may offend this or that group of people.
Maybe bearing in mind what happened last December when some of the fantasy charms in the brand's Pradamalia range were deemed offensive as they seemed to evoke blackface, Miuccia Prada tried to avoid potential accusations by turning for her A/W 19 menswear and Pre-Fall 19 collections not to a human but to a monster – Frankenstein's.
The set for the catwalk show, held last Sunday in the Deposito performance space at the Fondazione Prada, evoked a laboratory where mysterious experiments may be carried out, with its metal floors lined with sinister exposed-filament bulbs.
There were actually two sides to the collection: the green face of Frankenstein's monster, his large disembodied hands and lightning bolts and roses appeared as fun prints on shirts, tops and pencil skirts. Thick soled shoes in bright colours also pointed at the monster's footwear in some of the famous films about him.
The monster theme also reappeared in the knitted tops that seemed to sprout patches of faux fur in contrasting colours around the shoulder area (the effect was replicated in the hats that with marabou trimmings resembling the crazy hairstyle cartoon characters may get after getting electrocuted...), but also in the imperfect final jumpers that looked as if they were made by an amateur knitter and that featured intarsia bolts and knitted hearts safety-pinned on the breast (Frankenstein's creature was, after all, a monster with a big heart...).
The humorous horror theme was juxtaposed to a military mood represented by tailored suits (at times cinched at the waist with multiple leather belts), padded bomber jackets, coats and well-sculpted strapless dresses covered with large utility pockets (the latest chapter in the utility pocket saga we explored a while back).
The palette in this section of the show was rather somber and included military green, navy blue and black, while bold colours prevailed in the Frankenstein's monster section.
A lighter mood returned in the pale blue shirts and dresses covered in sparkling rhinestones and ample jumpers decorated with rows of large gems and stones.
Apart from the chunky-soled shoes and sneakers, the accessory offer included harness-style backpacks, multiple mini-bags and geometrical glasses.
Surely Frankenstein's monster wasn't a new inspiration since it has already appeared on different runways and collections in the history of fashion. But that wasn't the point.
Miuccia Prada was indeed trying to use this figure in both a literal way (monster prints sell well...) and in a conceptual and metaphorical way.
Frankenstein's creature was indeed hoping for love and understanding, but encountered the hate of men. So that dichotomy in the collection between humorous monster faces and regimented militaristic styles was the physical representation via clothes of the human/de-humanised, sensitive/insensitive, compassion/cruelty juxtapositions. Besides, Prada employed the theme of romantic horror to ponder a bit on the rejected and the disenfranchised of our times (a difficult thing to do through a collection for a luxury fashion house) and Frankenstein's monster was a way to approach this difficult theme in a lighter way.
Prada was also fascinated by Mary Godwin, author of Frankenstein and wife of Percy Bysshe Shelley, who published the book anonymously because readers wouldn't have been interested in a story writter by a woman. Miuccia Prada is not in the same condition as Mary Shelley as the media are keen to hear what she's got to say, but, at the same time, what she says may be misinterpreted or considered as pretentious since she is in a priviledged position and leads a luxury house. So Doctor Frankenstein's creation was for the designer an excuse to ponder about several themes and issues.
Miuccia is an influencer so expect monsters to be all over the place come next season (and expect the Frankenstein monster shirts on this runway to replace Prada's popular short-sleeved shirts with flames and monkeys).
The collection is also an introduction to an upcoming season of Japanese horror films that will be screened at the Fondazione Prada: as Miuccia Prada explained to the press, her passion for trashy horror films sparked some of the motifs, colours and ideas for the men's collection, so fashionistas (with a passion for cinema)'d better take a note about the screenings in their diaries if they want to learn more about Miuccia's taste. In the meantime they can start rewatching the various movies about Frankenstein's story, that will keep them busy at least until these collections are out.
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