Sunday, September 26, 2010

Collection of the Moment: Prada's Just Bananas






It's hard to put my finger on Prada's Spring 2011 show. The message wasn't solely about wearability. The collection, it seems, is between a display of Miuccia Prada's superior craft as a designer and a derision where the collection is the joke.

Prada is probably the only label I know where competence and caprice befit each other. In other words, it thrives in contradiction--from minimal to baroque, monochrome to kaleidoscopic, quirky to sexy, funny to serious, the Spring 2011 collection exuded the all-time Prada aesthetic.

First, let's take a look at Miuccia's version of "baroque." Suffice to say that I haven't seen anything more updatedly baroque than a manic cluster of cherubs, monkeys and bananas in one dress. Other pieces have zany stripes that could put a technicolor zebra or inmate to shame. The patterns are definitely youthful and vibrant, yet it bordered cuckoo territory: some pieces are so ridiculously styled it feels almost like a joke on Prada's part.

The Spring 2011 collection exuded the all-time Prada aesthetic.

For something less of a jest, she offered superb minimalism in the mix. Sparsely decorated dresses (save for a few ruffles), jackets and skirts are probably the most coveted in the collection; they are both flattering to most body types and not overtly deranged. The plunging necklines gave sensuality and seriousness to a collection that is otherwise messing around.

Of course, Prada never disappoints with accessories. The tango heels and sombreros never looked more appropriate in the collection's Latin flair. But to add something out of left field, she presented multiplatform brogues that appeared in the men's collection and fur stoles (really? fur, for spring?).




Images from nymag.com; video from youtube.com

9 comments:

Ricademus said...

I thought maybe the joke was that the models are boys. They are very, um...androgynous.

Safe in the Steep Cliffs said...

men in dresses? nice.

btw, i know i know.... new blog again... but this time i really think i'm going to stick to it. there's something about this blog that i like.

Nico said...

you guys....that's a pretty funny comment though. but you should watch the id to get a better feel of the collection. its so multi layered, sometimes reading prada is like analyzing prose. very hard.

Wenny said...

Whatever it is behind the designer's collection and I can't say much about my fashion sense, I know I only like the 2-piece orange and the matching blue handbag.

noone said...

I don't think I would wear any of that in real life... but they do look good on the runway! I do want that black and white fuzzy thing that the model is carrying though ,whatever it is!

Nico said...

@ Pop: hahaha, it's a fur stole. its too hot for spring that the models are just carrying it.

Unknown said...

The collection is completed. Personally I like very much and it is very original. In the same lined that the collection for men.

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myu said...

Are those cross-dressers?

o.o

Well...THAT's new. Definitely.

Nico said...

really? do the models look so androgynous you consider them boys? theyre all women. very flat chested women.