Banality, clichés – this is Miuccia Prada’s territory. In taking what is stale and predictable and turning it on its head, she established her identity as a fashion provocateur. Fall/Winter 2020 was an investigation in female codes, particularly as they apply to “women’s strength”. That meant taking clichés like fringe and crystal beading, and making them into something that both codified and defied femininity.
The stamp of Prada signatures was instantly recognizable.
Entitled Surreal Glamour, the Prada Fall/Winter 2020 collection reworked some of Miuccia’s greatest hits to meet the mindset of new power dressing. That meant pairing boxy blazers with skirts slashes into strips of flippant fringe, styling longline basketball jerseys with ropes of beads, and turning the suit jacket into a vinyl puffa. Sheer looks threatened to float away unless tamped down by good old-fashioned wool separates, while vests were emblazoned with 3D graphics.
As you might expect from a Prada collection, accessories were a strong selling point. Colorful tights, glossy rain boots, frame bags, and headbands outfitted with sculptural silver elements brought the glamour to her line-up of surreality. The runway show took place in a courtyard that put guests more than arm’s length from the clothes. Although the audience was seated at a distance, the stamp of Prada signatures was instantly recognizable. From the parade of nylon to the eccentric styling and the bold mix of patterns, colors, and reworked menswear, Prada’s clichés are territory that Miuccia owns and can do with it what she will.
