It’s been years since Prada stopped being a fashion house that was pleased presenting two collections per year and thinking it had made a good job. Long gone are the times when I used to log in to prada.com looking for something new and found nothing but an image of the current campaign seen in magazines. There was no fashion, no interaction; nothing that could have satisfied me or any of the other fashionistas. Prada was a mystery, and still is today, but for totally different reasons. Before, the lack of personality beyond the clothes leaved you with the feeling of wanting to know more. Now, Prada expands its universe outside the runway, so you wonder what is going to be their next step.
With four collections per year (spring/summer, resort, pre-fall and autumn/winter) Miuccia Prada has been surprising us constantly by introducing the outfits using artistic media, something that backs up her ideology of fashion that goes with every collection.
You stop seeing the garments just like well crafted and expensive outfits. It integrates them in different escenarios and people, in situations that move them out of their usual context, so that we can appreciate them in the same way the designer conceived them.
There is a reason for the shoes, the silhouette of the jackets and dresses, and the stage in which these are shown. What better way to understand what is on Miuccia’s mind than the media she chose to express it with?
FALL/WINTER 2010 MENSWEAR SHOW
Prada announced on its website that the 17th of January there would be a live broadcast of the fashion show in Milan, the first one for the house. In the same runway, the women’s pre-fall collection will be presented as well, following the same line of design that the menswear.No need to travel. Prada brought its runway venue and attendees to anyone who had an internet connection and liked the brand. With a stage full of colors, statistic charts decorating the floor and screens showing the best moments of the past years, the models filled the room walking everywhere showing off the new collection.
You did not have to wait until the next day to get press reviews and photos of the runway. You were there, creating an opiniong immediately. Maybe the main purpose for this event was to get rid of the middle people (the formal press) and deliver the message directly to its consumers.
"It's time to reinvent the banal",
said the designer for ABC News.
This collection has the spirit of a young preppy boy. At first sight, a simple design: already visited a few times but enriched with the modern touch. This Prada boy appreciates the past, knowing that these are modern times.
Another piece that calls for attention is a large coat with sixties-inspired prints and camouflage, a little bit retro and corny, but in a right measure.
“Mrs. Prada is famous (notorious, even) for moving from season to season without a backward glance at what’s come before”, wrote Tim Blanks on his review for style.com
THE FIRST SPRING FILM
The fashion show was not the only thing that Prada had prepared. Since a week ago, their CEO announced the colaboration with Yang Fudong, a young Chinese artist known for his black and white films, the Seven Chinese Intellectuals (an adaptation of the ancient Chinese stories The seven sages of the bamboo grave). At 39, Fudong was comisionated with the task of shooting the spring/summer 2010 collection and direct the film that goes with the campaign: First Spring.
Even though, Prada could fall into an awkward gap if it doesn’t succeed merging fashion with art; there is no guarantee that it will work just because they are exceptional alone.
An exciting future for a good start./ Cheryl Santos
