Scene setting: As guests flocked to the Prada A/W 2018 show, held at the Rem Koolhaas-designed extension of the Fondazione Prada, Instagram feeds being filling with images of the sky that surrounded the show. Huge neon signs illuminated the air — a flaming wedge heel from its S/S 2012 collection, the silhouette of a cartoon monkey, a bunch of bananas, and a scaly Stegosaurus. These were symbols borrowed from the brand’s A/W 2018 men’s show earlier this year, only emphasised by the release of a set of colourful Prada GIF’s launched on Instagram’s ‘Stories’ service. As guests — which included Prada collaborator Wes Anderson and Bill Murray — poured up the stairs and piled into escalators, they stepped into a sleek black-floored show space that appeared to fall away under their feet, revealing the illuminated Prada skyline as a backdrop.
Mood board: The layers to a Prada show are notoriously complex, as hard to unpack as the crates and boxes, which lined the brand’s A/W 2018 men’s show space. This was a collection packed with neon brights, swathes of protective net and padded nylon-garments worn after a chemical spill or a nuclear fallout. Bright strapless dresses covered with layers of beaded lace, fringed flapper dresses in shades of toxic gunge, colourful tweed jackets and bandeaus, leather coats with fluoro-fake fur collars and sporty zip-up sweaters branded with the futuristic Prada logo showcased during it’s men’s show.
Finishing touches: For her men’s show Miuccia Prada had classics on her mind. She asked four design heroes to create pieces in the brand’s signature nylon fabrics that propelled her into fame in the late eighties. For the brand’s A/W 2018 women’s offering, nylon accessories came in puffy oversized clutches and tote bags in fluoro-brights. For protection against that threat of toxic waste, the label advised thick-soled workman’s boots, or bright toggled leg coverings, raver bucket hats and neon-tinted sunglasses. Identity cards were pinned to model’s chests and bows of bright net hung from their hair – corporate yet pretty, nuclear fallout chic.
