The relationship between city and countryside, but let it be fashion.
This is how Miuccia Prada summed up her autumn men's collection and that of Raf Simons, who had one foot in the office and the other in idyllic nature.
Guests sat in swivel office chairs arranged in serpentine rows on the transparent boards of the massive catwalk theater. A few meters below them, a crystal-clear stream carried autumn leaves across a green, rolling landscape of grasses and ferns.
It was a mind-bending, bewildering scene that encapsulated the tension between our fluorescent- and LED-lit indoor lives and the great outdoors. The concept was reflected in everything from the invitation (a business card backed with an image of reeds and water) to the style of the collection, with swim caps, goggles and pool slides paired with stereotypical office attire, all twisted in that inimitable Prada style.
The show did not feature the exhilarating avalanche of fashion one expects from Prada, although there were many new and attractive design ideas, including bright colors for pants and twin sets; British-style country jackets with plenty of swagger; Super flat, slipper-like dress shoes, which could put an end to the long reigns of thick soles, and flashy belts galore, sometimes worn in several.
Sailors, seen at Emporio Armani and elsewhere in Milan, also appeared in gorgeous shearling coats with gleaming gold buttons.
“There were a million references. There was the businessman, the worker, the thinking man, and how does that relate to nature?” Simons mused during the backstage scrum, summarizing the backstory of the maritime looks and water polo hats as “ human activity in relation to water.”
Meanwhile, Prada spoke of our “deep need for seasons,” a metaphor for renewal that has inspired artists for generations, including Russian composer Igor Stravinsky with “The Rite of Spring,” written for Sergei Diaghilev’s ballet company. in 1913.
With its excess of gray flannel, pretty outerwear, and stylish but chunky knit sweaters, her collection certainly telegraphed fall and winter convincingly. Tailoring was youthful and mostly boxy for suits and coats, while trench coats were thin and tubular.
Among the Pradaisms were pants that fell between suit pants and sweatshirts; the peculiar color used for sweaters and all types of pants, and the unconventional caps, balaclavas and captain's hats.
Another unexpected accessory were the silk ties in plain, sober colors, which were sent along with the invitations, combined on the catwalk with typical business shirts. They were a reminder of fashion's devotion to the seasons and their cyclical nature; Hence, even formal ties, considered almost extinct, have the possibility of being renewed.
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