Miuccia Prada's catwalk runs parallel to the rest of the shows on the Milanese schedule. Not for her a slick bland catwalk. Instead she constructs a set within her modernist headquarters each season which manages to redraw the mood in fashion for the following six months. Judging by the look of Prada's spring/summer 2014 collection, fashion is about to turn in a bold, sporty and heavily embellished direction. Or as Mrs Prada would have it, 'real and kind of absurd'.
The show space on Thursday evening in Milan showcased the work of six specially commissioned street artists who created giant murals around the catwalk set. Paintings and illustrations - many of which were of women's faces - were meant to engage with themes of 'femininity, representation and power'. It sounds rather weighty and pretentious but in Prada's case a concept is never intended to overpower the fashion. Clothes and the women who wear them remain the focus of each collection.
'I was fixated with the idea of women and how it is necessary that they be strong, visible, kind of fighters. I wanted the clothes to be so bold that people will see you but also listen,' explained the designer backstage. This wasn't a quiet look. Prada went for a bold mix of colours: buttercup yellow plus purple and bright red, mixed with moss green and dark blues. Jewels and giant sequins were clustered on top of dresses in the shape of bras. Many of the face illustrations appeared on coats. They were striking but classic in structure.
The accessories were sporty and destined to be cult buys. Ribbed ankle warmers were pulled up tight with go-faster stripes at the top, high heels had trainer shell toes and hiking sandals came poster-paint-bright with added jewels. A fur coat had a rainbow painted on. It was a both chaotic and confident. Brilliantly upbeat and odd.
This is a collection that will both challenge and look best on its more grown-up customers. It will take a bold 50-something to take on a tailored coat with 'bra' embellishment. But as is the designer's intention, people will notice and be inclined to listen to her if she does.
It was a collection which did not much care for the traditional mores of the spring/summer catwalk. No swimwear, but plenty of coats. It's an irreverent approach to the traditional catwalk timescales - and it is working. Prada sells clothes that women want to buy whatever the month. Both the Milanese streets - which are filled with women of all ages wearing full-skirted dresses, cinematic heroine dresses from last season - and the sales figures prove it. The luxury firm saw profits reach 308.2 million euros in the first half of its financial year - a rise of 7.6%.
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