milan - prada - fall/winter 2008

PRADA
a prada show is always greeted with a sense of hightened anticipation. it is a given fact that one expects to be surprised yet again, but it is the one ingredient in the show that arouses such strong reactions. this season, that magic ingredient was lace. miuccia has a tendency for tackling certain things that she hates. just as she did with suede a few years ago, this time it was lace that became her obsession. the play of an almost fetishistic approach with the covered and uncovered has always been a prada nuance. after opening the show with stark black dresses with archetectural ruffles, the lace pieces crept in as skirts and dresses over a high collared blue shirt which exposed the bloomers underneath, and from then on it was lace after lace after lace. some came in nude tones to play up the aspect of what is seen and unseen but also momentarily in ice blues, oranges, and bronzes. considering the fabric of choice is usually always associated with light, girlish prettiness, there was a severe, starkness to this collection. almost the same mood that was present in her menswear collection. the almost industrial, constructivism that could've been a direct influence of her communist past created an almost menacing atmosphere. and it wasn't just in the mood where the men's and women's show was coherent, the high double collars, exaggerated peplumed waist, colour palette, and a touch of surrealism that was most evident in her accesories cemented the similarities. bags and shoes came with frilled leather ruffles that appeared to have spurted out of the seams. the arabesque lines it provided, the only curved aspect of the show. the tension between lady like conservatism and a certain perverse element which is always present at a prada show seemed to be more evident with this collection. it's like watching a dirty movie and it's quite uneasy to watch but you can't take your eyes off it. maybe that is prada's dirty little secret. she doesn't like to watch, i think she actually likes to be watched.



photo: style.com