Stage Set
The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is a decadent Milanese shopping mall where the very first Prada store opened in 1913; on Sunday afternoon it also played venue to the Prada Resort 2018 Womenswear show, dressed up to reinterpret Osservatorio, a new space at Fondazione Prada dedicated solely to photography. Played out IRL, this meant baby pink pillars, cushioned seats in a complementary palette, mirrors, and several black and white photographic prints. While perhaps on the surface not as elaborate as previous show spaces, the location’s historical context and the efforts of Dutch studio AMO made sure the vibe was pure Prada.
Ladies to the Front
Marking Mrs Prada’s return to the Resort schedule, for the first time in five years Prada’s Resort womenswear offering stood on its own, independent of the menswear collections it’s usually coupled with. Boasting a feminine palette and similarly womanly silhouettes, several looks used sparkling embellishment to form patterns that highlighted the bust and pelvis; to some it could be read as a grown up interpretation of what many contemporary embroiderers are currently pushing, exploring feminism with needlework that focuses on imagery of women’s reproductive organs (think Tove Lo at the ARIAS). This being Prada of course, the outcome was a strictly glamourous affair.
Sports Lessons
In contrast to the girlish palette of candy colours, gems and accompanying sheer fabrics (plus a second round of James Jean, an artist collab that first appeared in 2008), a number of models strutting past were adorned by pieces that riffed on sportswear, comprised of techy fabrics featuring plastic zips and boasting shapes that shifted to a more contemporary silhouette. Most prominent of the lot was Natalie Westling who donned a tracksuit, gathered hems and everything, while elsewhere marrying the two (the ladylike and the active), many of the former looks were accompanied by ribbed socks pulled up high (think girls school PE lessons), while others similarly featured mutil-panel trainers.
