Prada men: Office and garden

Man's relationship with nature was the theme of Prada's latest men's collection presented Sunday in Milan, the artistic highlight of the Italian men's season so far.

A visual discussion announced both by the invitation (a silver silk tie inside an artist's portfolio containing an image of an autumn forest) and by an immense new ensemble.

Guests entered the show through a maze of workstations with desktop computers displaying one word: Prada. Inside, a vast forest floor, albeit a meter below an all-glass surface, all illuminated by a series of office lights. Orson Welles' 'The Trial' meets 'The Blair Witch Project'.

Although never expressed, the underlying feeling was fear of environmental self-destruction. In which walked a cast that moved quickly, as if late for a professional appointment, eager to get somewhere to save the planet. Before an audience seated in classic five-wheeled swivel chairs.

“Personally, I found the whole outfit quite terrifying,” admitted Miuccia Prada, in a backstage conversation with her designer partner Raf Simons.

Together they created a collection, much of which subverted many “architectural” fashion codes. Shipping of oversized ventilated jackets was shortened, even when the side pockets were placed extremely low. They dreamed of tweed jackets wrapped tightly and finished with ribbed sleeves. Or mega-wide, sculpted peacoats and tapered coats.

Then, just as the ensemble juxtaposed nature and office, the silhouette suddenly shifted to thin nylon weave hipster pants worn with slim khaki spy raincoats. Half of the pants were completed with woven leather belts, so wide they could have been sashes. The fabrics also featured stark contrasts, from Donegal tweed to stretch nylon.

Ideas about fabrics emerge “from the 1960s to today, to Wall Street, to challenge the relationship of materials to clothing,” Simons explained.

Virtually all the models wore a cap or hat. Many walked in lace-up shoes without heels but with inner wedges or colorful monkish sandals. Almost gliding over the glass floor, where moss and lichen met fresh ferns and leaves beneath.

See catwalk

Simons, born in Belgium, added that one inspiration was the nostalgic tradition of neighboring Holland, where rivers and canals freeze and families from 11 cities gather to ice skate.

Thus the worker, the thinker and the businessman met even the sailor, which included peacoats, captain's caps and tugboat captain's coats. Ideas that犀利士
range from the avant-garde of the 20s to games with Raf's own diamond-patterned nylon flight jackets.

In part, by playing on some of the ideas first discussed in an exhibition called “Everyone's Talking About the Climate” recently presented at the Prada Foundation in Venice.

“There were so many political things attached (to this collection) even if we don't want to talk about it,” Miuccia noted, surrounded by two score iPhones recording her explanations.

A collection received with enormous and prolonged cheers and applause. Miuccia and Raf waved to a front row that included Jake Gyllenhaal, James McAvoy, Damson Idris, Paapa Essiedu, Li Xian and their old soccer rivals, Brooklyn Peltz Beckham (a Manchester United scion) and Trent Alexander Arnold, The Liverpool star known as Double A, who is the best striker of the ball in modern football.

“I've been to a few fashion shows before this seemed like another level,” Double A marveled.

That's because that's how it was.