Behind the set: Prada’s A/W 2016 men’s show is endowed with civic responsibility

last updated 7 August 2022

Regular Prada collaborators AMO (the research arm of Dutch studio OMA) took inspiration from the traditional public stages that usually accompany civic ceremonies for Mrs Prada’s A/W 2016 menswear show.

The proceedings began with an entirely new ceremonial entrance taking over the facade of the Via Fogazzaro venue, from which guests were then led through an ‘oneiric’ passage from the street to the show space.

Constructed entirely from simple plywood (or OSB wood cladding) and freshened up with a good coat of civic red paint, the ‘trial’ set inside included a system of balconies and tribunes, blurring the line between the participant and the observer. Built over multiple gradients with a raised viewing platform in the centre of the room dominating the catwalk, this new spatial hierarchy questioned the traditional notion of the front row as the fashion show’s premier viewing platform, while the layout’s imbalanced symmetry referenced the work of Dutch graphic artist Maurits Cornelis Escher.