Miuccia Prada creates an 80s inspired collection of slick snakeskin and buckled pilgrim shoes – but is there more than meets the eye?
Initial reaction:
“Something fun, something light,” were the sparing few words Miuccia Prada (/tag/miuccia-prada) offered up after the show, with a cheeky grin that told us that maybe there was something more to say. Or maybe not? We constantly mine Miuccia’s output at both Prada (/tag/prada) and Miu Miu (/tag/miu-miu) for deeper meaning but perhaps this time, she was just doing fashion for fashion’s sake. And thereʼs nothing wrong with that when the fashion is so damn enticing. Is it therefore about consumerism and our feverish fashion desires? The proof is in the lusting for next season’s smorgasbord of cute coats, sparkly gems, slick skirts and must-have shoes.
Mixing the decades:
Touches of the 50s, the 60s, the 70s and the 90s could all be found in the pick ʻnʼ mix of a collection that instantly read as a Miu Miu aficionadoʼs wet dream, with its abundance of Miuccia-isms. But, it also definitely referenced the 80s with the presence of Lady Di high-necked ruffled blouses. New Wave appropriate leopard print and Memphis Design zany colour combos surged through. J.W. Anderson (/tag/jw-anderson) and Nicolas Ghesquière (/tag/nicolas-ghesquiere) have also both recalled the decade, inspired by its devil-may-care excess. Miuccia too was eager to emphasise that she wasnʼt trying to do something with intellectual depth – instead it was just about “fashion” and mining the 80s with its overt visual style statements, which seemed fitting for this admittedly shallow fashion-fest. Of course, what was merely “fashion” in her eyes was already leaps and bounds beyond the fashion norm – with her rich mix of crayon-hued mock-croc, nubbly tweeds, sparkly jewels and pilgrim buckled pointy shoes.
Remixing the sounds:
Sigue Sigue Sputnikʼs album “Flaunt It” served as the soundtrack – a mixture of the bandʼs songs and spoken word ads, which included one for L’Oréal. This was combined with Talking Headsʼ greatest hits for a combination of sounds that summed up the genre and style-mixing attitude of the collection. Trust Miuccia to have the last word on eclecticism, which has emerged as one of the strongest themes of the season.