”Do you want fashion to be a hashtag?” questioned Miuccia Prada, at a pre-show conference for her Spring/ Summer ’19 collection”. That’s how you rule a country-now-hashtags and fashion shouldn’t follow this excessive simplification, because the more you simplify, the more slogan you use, the less content there is. To wit, Mrs Prada used this collection to further illustrate her case, highlighting the extreme differences between the ”dreams of freedom, of fantasy, of nudity, and more extreme observation”. Almost like a tension between what’s conservative and liberal, Prada Spring/ Summer ’19 juxtaposed acid-label psychedelia with ladylike suiting.
Think Jackie O at Woodstock; elegantly tailored pencil skirts were matched with harnessed plunging tops, while Stabilo-neon tie dyes elevated exacting trapeze dresses. Consider it a dialogue between crisp cotton and diaphanous chiffon, or solid satin versus scenic prints. Going deeper into her rabbit hole, the Italian provocateur also enlisted three female architects for the second instalment of her ‘Prada Invites’ series to craft unique pieces based on the iconic Prada nylon, examining the intersections of design and unexpected conversations. Elizabeth Diller transformed a garment bag into a dress, Cini Boeri devised an expandable shoulder bag, and Kazuyo Sejima fashioned the shapeshifting Daln and Yooo bags- worn either as a bag, shawl or to some, a travel pillow.
Mrs Prada returned to her roots this season while pushing the boundaries of functionality. ”I’m trying to simplify because eccentric pieces aren’t worn by many people,” she added. ”And fashion needs people. It needs people who care”. Now, more than ever.
