Miuccia Prada is optimistic. In the last few seasons she focused on somber moods and shared her worries with journalists about Europe, extremism, racism, violence and the ominous ghost of wars, but, while the chaotic situation reigning supreme in the world is still firmly on her mind, for her A/W 2020 menswear collection, Prada looked at glimpses of hope.
According to Miuccia, one major reason to be more optimistic is the way the fashion industry has embraced sustainability, that has now turned into a keyword of the fashion glossary.
But her optimism was also inspired by the main theme of the new collection - heroes - or, to be more precise, ordinary, everyday heroes.
This oxymoronic definition was referred to the fact that, in the opinion of the designer, we all express our most heroic sides when we do our job at our best, in a nutshell when we care.
Enter therefore the Prada commuters, young models walking around an architectural set representing a box-like square. Courtesy of Rem Koolhaas' OMA/AMO, the set was a combination of De Chirico (a reference also for the A/W 2016 runway) and Koolhaas' beloved Superstudio.
The square also featured an equestrian statue or rather a non-heroic (as defined by Miuccia herself) of a man on a horse, radically reinvented to look like one of those flat-pack models toys of dinosaurs or vehicles.
Models moved with a purpose and the show opened on a functionality and formality note with grey suits, tailored double-breasted coats and boxy jackets with round and soft shoulders reminiscent of school uniforms. Most of the opening looks came in sensible fabrics such as wool or corduroy.
The mood rapidly changed, though, with mismatched separates, trousers in bold shades and with contrasting stripes down the side, minimalist uniforms that wouldn't have looked out of place in a sophisticated sci-fi series, shirts with ruffled bibs and oversized jackets with three-dimensional rubber graphics on the pocket flaps, while the matte and lacquered shearlings were borrowed from the '70s.
Gradually, though, Miuccia introduced her ugly chic moments reinvented for the modern commuters: these sparkles of oddness and surrealism materialised not just in the bare-armed tank tops, but also in the colour palettes that juxtaposed an orange jacket, matched with a pink polo and with red trousers (shades that mirrored the set palette) and in the disquieting accessories, such as green gloves or thick rubber boots, for that touch of Dr Frankenstein madness that has accompanied Miuccia from the A/W 19 season.
Further ugly twists were represented by the bright optical patterns on the thick jumpers and the prints of optical geometries on pajamas that evoked fabric patterns from the early 1900s and the Vienna Secession.
The latter was actually mentioned as a reference by Miuccia (and you can check out the previous post on Josef Hoffmann and Koloman Moser's geometrical patterns to get an idea, but we will look at more patterns and references in another post).
Sartorial inspirations have so far prevailed in Milan (besides most brands favoured a men-only show to a co-ed presentation), with tailored moods making a comeback after long seasons in which streetwear prevailed.
On Prada's runway the sartorial side combined at times with workwear inspirations as well, to give emphasis to the importance of giving value to one's work, doing it well, with intelligence and culture, as Miuccia highlighted.
Honourable intentions, but they would have been even more convincing if they had been matched with some members of the workforce from the Prada factories sitting in the front row in place of your usual influencer or celebrity. Now, that would have brought some great optimism on the runway and would have given an entirely new meaning to the sentence "giving value to one's work", maybe proving that the industry cares for the real heroes who work in fashion rather than just for the young, beautiful, glamorous and famous people who pose for it.
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