Prada’s comment for her latest exploration in menswear was that it’s “one of the most sophisticated I’ve ever done.” At a quick glance, Miuccia’s latest execution for her Fall/Winter 2013 collection may seem a bit too subdued, a bit too conventional. With key pieces ranging from your knits, suits and trench coats done in muted grays and camels splashed in with an array shades of blue, red and yellow (which took the Prada team approximately three months just to get the perfect shade), the whole collection seemed tamed. Where’s the juxtaposition? Where’s the irony? Where’s the usual Prada zing that’s always present in every single collection?
“Simplicity is so difficult. To make perfect something that is normal and classic is much harder.” Ms. Prada started about her collection. Sure enough, dissected into its own individual pieces, the clothes seemed normal and classic enough and have pieces that would last you a lifetime of loyalty. But the element of ‘perfection’ she was referring to… where did this come about? The key to completely digesting and understanding this collection was to enlarge our observation skills into the subtle details within the clothes and styling that she’s cleverly included.
A messy collar done purposely done to convery her concept.
Further subtle details that completely collocate the entire collection.
From mismatched suits, unconventional feminine ruffle details on the shirts, velvet-trimmed coat collars in contrasting colors, the drainpipes, and the idea slowly start to piece itself; imperfection is perfection. Further shown with the way only one shirt collar would pop itself out jumbled between the knits, dress pants that only reach the ankles, and you got yourself another exercise in the concept of irony. But it doesn’t just stop with the clothes; Prada followed through with this theme and dragged it on to her accessories.
A glance at the latest eyewear frames and sunglasses.
Missing bottom frames on the frames that bring her message blatantly across.
Another quick glance at her eyewear collection and they seem like your typical thick-rimmed frames, but upon closer inspection you’ll notice they’re missing the bottom half of their frame. A revolutionary new idea? Not so much; she’s already explored this execution in her current collection for Miu Miu, but the message comes across completely different. Even though both collections coincidentally explore the idea of opposite perfection, her menswear collection had a more blatant indication.
And we can’t leave behind the shoes. Thick-soled brogues that looked like her Spring/Summer 2011 ones, except they’ve just undergone a serious paint job. Done in deep shades of brown and black, the magnified soles was a very fresh take on the resonance of the Teddy Boy shoes we’ve seen in the recent years. Definitely cool, definitely coveted. “You want to wear everything… and that is really what fashion is.” Miuccia closed off about her collection. Unfortunately for our bank accounts, we’d have to agree.
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