Much of the wood and steel scaffolding that was built inside Paris' Palais d'Iéna for the Miu Miu show was wrapped in what appeared to be heavy-duty plastic cling film. This was not only a courteous move for the guests that had to sit on raw wood benches (imagine the potential splinters for Academy Award winners Lupita Nyong'o and Jared Leto, who flew in directly from LA to sit front row?), but the sandwich bag wrapping also fitted neatly in with this show's central occupation with clear vinyl. Perhaps motivated by the sheer amount of rainfall in her hometown over the last six months, Miuccia Prada waterproofed nearly everything this season, from her plastic galosh-like shoes to the clear, colourful boxy overcoats and mini A-line skirts. Even her stiletto-heeled pointed booties were crafted entirely from the hefty transparent material (and cinched shut with a colourful drawstring closure). The plastic theme read more childish than it did sexually subversive, mostly because Prada counter-balanced the material with girlish shapes and juvenile fabrics. Pastel puffer jackets took up almost the entire first half of the show, fashioned into teenage-looking skirts and matching jackets, or dresses with colour blocking. Not all of it looked convincing for an adult. But Prada was much more successful with the beautiful boxy brocade coats, the Lurex-shot knitwear and the embroidered mini skirts layered with those ever-present plastics. One could imagine every major star in young Hollywood (most of whom were sitting in a front row by the way) working each of those looks to a tee, whether it was raining or not.
Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
