Psychedelic silk dresses, nylon jackets trimmed with blood-red shearling and a rubber platformed shoe so gorgeously grotesque every other woman in the world already wants a pair can mean only one thing: Miuccia Prada has unveiled her latest collection.
Taking Fassbinder’s film noir classic The Bitter Tears Of Petra Von Kant as her inspiration, the fashion world’s favourite free-thinker presented Milan Fashion Week with a dark, sinister offering that gave the Prada shopper plenty to delight in.
Set against a catwalk lined with scaffolding and accompanied by the thrilling vocals of German opera singer Barbara Sukowa, this collection was all about transforming the ordinary into the remarkable. True to her feminist ideals, Prada also wanted to explore the notion of female power. Beautifully bold overcoats in zingy orange spoke to a woman with the confidence required to stand out from the crowd, while divine sack-dresses cut from sheer tulle were completed with neck-ties in vivid contrasting hues.
Prada also took the opportunity to toy with the notions of high and low culture by combining known codes of luxury such as fine silk with cheaper components including shearling — or “cheap man’s fur” as the designer described it. The result, while typically subversive, was a formidable collection which oozed with wearable appeal.
London Fashion Week - in pictures
