SuzyMFW: Past, Present And Future At Prada
With both Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons, I go back a long way. To their beginnings, when Prada clothes were birthed from tough, sporty, plastic-y handbags, and Raf’s sweaters were teenage boy clothes when the ‘boom-boom’ 1980s had faded into the messy, druggy 90s.
That was when Prada, now 71, made her fashion name with a lasting and original idea of the “ugly aesthetic”.
What the designer created was both a uniform and a challenge to existing style. The plainness of it all - especially coming out of an Italian fashion world of fancy, colourful, sunshine clothes - created a shockwave that still reverberates today.
The collection the new fashion duo showed on screen for spring/summer 2021 at Milan’s Covid fashion week included a reference to the 1990s' Prada moment, when patterns were deliberately awkward.
Throughout the show, which ended with the two designers in conversation, I could trace past Miuccia moments, but always with subtle references, not attempting to go back to the earlier futurism.
“This is a fundamental issue, I always wanted to do something that was meaningful to people - you have to be connected with what you read, what you learn, what you discuss,” said Miuccia, adding that she gained so much from her new fashion partner: “His ideas, his jobs, his clothes I can connect to.”
Raf, 52, has made a series of moves: from his own youth culture to Jil Sander in the 90s, through three and a half years as creative director of Dior, and then a period, cut short before the end of his original contract, in New York at Calvin Klein.
I would have loved to have seen a reference to the moment when Raf moved from a focus on youth culture to womenswear at Jil Sander, especially the spring 2011 collection which still gives me a jolt with its vivid colours but super-straight and simple cuts.
This week’s show was, quite rightly, a Prada story, with references throughout to the label's heritage, from the bags attached to the clothes, to the plainness and artful simplicity of it all.
As the co-designers sat on screen replying to questions from across the world, they seemed like a seasoned couple, perhaps imagining Miuccia as a smart aunt working with her clever nephew.
“Every designer wants to be new, but I think when you are in it for a long time - say a few decades - it is important to be able to refresh your own body of work,” Raf said.
“Me, personally, I see the pure definition of new as something never seen before. It’s by a young new person - a new generation coming in."
I remember so clearly seeing Raf in 2005, running down the green hillock in the Boboli Gardens in Florence at the end of a show at the Pitti Uomo event.
The northern European designer looked so exceptional in the lush Italian setting. This work had followed a previous Florentine visit to launch an exhibition named The Fourth Sex. Adolescent Extreme, with an immersive book by Francesco Bonami focusing on the crucial teenage democratic to which Simons clung.
Fast forward to this spring/summer 21, to a show that was meant to bring out the Prada spirit, which was especially powerful in tailored coats tracing a big arch around the body and offering an element of hot desire. And with slingback shoes, there was a sense of hidden sexuality so typical of Miuccia’s ability to underscore an emotion.
In their responses to questions from across the planet, the designers replied like a cosy couple, with Miuccia announcing that her day began with a glass of hot water; Simons with coffee.
If there was a moment when Raf would have liked to speak about his many previous artistic collaborations, especially with artist Sterling Ruby, he bit his tongue.
It seems more likely that he has buried his artistic yearnings in favour of helping to create a coherent collection with Miuccia. For that, this new couple definitely succeeded.
The collection was destined to be sold. And those coats especially - whether in beige or sunshine yellow or white - were all clutched across the bodice like an object to love. Since Prada’s elements of desire are always about surprising pairings; small pointed shoes with little heels and pretty colours from pink to turquoise or scarlet, filled that element.
The word “continuation” was printed on some of the clothes, perhaps as a statement of intent that a new co-designer did not mean any abrupt change for Prada. A spiky black flower going down to the hem with the words “rapture/suggestion” are details that become a focus when on screen, but not so much when worn where they would be seen as just a decoration.
Miuccia has always excelled in mysterious comments. So there were the words “Pandrama of Panorama" on a slithering yellow satin dress with the fabric caught up in whirls of roses.
The big “PRADA” printed on a silk triangle at the neck of the dress and on many other garments was a clear statement of sales intent. Mostly, those defining tops went with slim trousers, as streamlined marketing basics. Had we seen some of this before?
“Our present is done with our past,” Miuccia said.
Will this collaboration continue in sweet harmony? It is difficult to know. Like Miuccia herself noting that she gets attached to one garment (currently a light-as-air skirt) there could be arguments or fallouts in the future.
Somewhere in my researches, I found a statement from Raf Simons that I feel would fit like a futuristic glove with Miuccia.
“I don’t want to show clothes - I want to show my attitude, my past, present and future,” Raf said.
“I use memories and future visions and try to place them in today’s world.”
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