This month’s fashion fix inquires on the elaborate way contemporary visionaries have tapped on symbols, motifs and colour to lead some of fashion’s oldest houses into the new world.
Triangulations
Taking a heritage leather House — particularly an Italian one with all of the inherent tradition and conservatism of Milan’s Via Monte Napoleon in post-war Milan — and making it relevant to the present is daunting. It is especially so when that House is Prada, which never gained popularity until heiress Miuccia Prada helmed the role of creative director in 1978.
Expressing a constant affliction for subversion, her most notable change was her conviction for rethinking luxury fabrics, particularly the use of synthetics in garments and accessories, which were typically considered ‘cheap’. However, towards the end of the previous millennia, the House, once informed by leather goods, made an impact with its intuitive use of nylon. The material instantly became a hallmark trend in luxury fashion, even up till today. Even as fashion continues to be in constant flux today, a desire to reinvent Prada’s iconography was in order.
It was made more apparent with the appointment of Raf Simons as co-creative director alongside Miuccia Prada in 2019. The illustrious use of Prada’s triangle logo across its new accessories lines spurred immediate attention as it deviated from being simply a dowdy monogram. It is instead viewed as a symbol. It started notably with the Triangle bag, but the recent release of the Symbole line best emphasises the evolution of the House.
‘Triangle’ and ‘Prada’ are two words that have become hard to separate; the Symbole underlines the unique opportunity to once again reinvent things that have irked us. Repeated triangles are emblematic of the logo and a reference to the Mod styles Miuccia Prada often references in her work — articulating shapes as a form of familiarity for audiences. ]The pattern is applied with a vertigo effect, subliminal: never in your face, but something to remember.
Parakeet Pilow
When you hear Bottega Veneta, thoughts typically turn to the well-known Intrecciato weave technique developed in the late 1960s: the Jodie, Cabat, and Handle all bear this mark. In an era where we relegate the notion of ‘luxury’ with just about anything thanks to the younger generation, the Intrecciato weave had to evolve or at least become something else. And it did; Bottega Veneta softly launched its unofficial House colour, the Parakeet, to widespread success.
It led to the term ‘Bottega Green’ being coined and educated a new generation of young audiences about the House. In this scenario, the colour becomes an effective tool that draws upon the history of the House with one that is modern, immediate, and straightforward. It was Tomas Maier who inventively used colour first before Daniel Lee settled on one modern iteration, and today, the green lives on with Matthieu Blazy.
For Winter ‘22, the new classic footwear — dubbed the pillow sneaker — proves that colour is instantly more recognisable, modern, and powerful than a logo.
Genus Rosa
In every Dior collection, the thing that binds them all together is ‘romance’ — that arresting lust for beauty, a feast of the eyes with a parade of fashion’s most alluring creations. Founder MonsieurChristian Dior was a romantic. His personal home, the La Colle Noirein the south of France, nestled that charm perfectly with an overdose of pastel florals in his gardens.
With a new generation unafraid to merge the past and the present, Kim Jones, whilst overseeing the creations at Dior Men, has approached his work at the House with similar contentions towards romance. His version, however, resurfaces one of Monsieur Dior’s favourite flowers, the genus Rosa (widely known as roses), as a motif.
Most recently, it appeared in the Dior Jardin capsule, an October2022 release studded with roses that have been reinterpreted with contemporary designs. It appears on T-shirts, sweaters, and blooms on patchwork that compose shirt-short ensembles.
Once you’re done with this story, click here to catch up with our September 2022 issue!
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