Hands up who doesn’t get nervous before an exam? Surely very few people manage to control their nerves in these situations, but for the peace of mind of many, we will tell you that this is something normal and that even most geniuses feel butterflies in their stomachs minutes before having to take a test of this type. Ms. Miuccia Prada and Mr. Raf Simons, current creative directors of the Italian luxury fashion house Prada, are two examples of what in today’s fashion and art world could be considered geniuses or legends. And yes, despite being categorized as such, and due to their level of demand, they still get a little nervous from time to time. Together, once again, they have joined forces to continue to break the mold in the fashion industry and to examine themselves and get the best possible mark (which they did, by the way) on the theme of fluid architecture around the human body, the main idea of the Spring/Summer 24 men’s collection, unveiled at the Fondazione Prada during Milan Fashion Week.
The third day of fashion week had many highlights but one of them was undoubtedly the absolute freedom of the body, proposed by the Italian firm and expressed through the foundations of the garments that dress it. In a futuristic and metallic atmosphere with abstract walls, and with the surprising appearance of fluids that formed a changing line through which the models paraded, the line began to be revealed, in which the shirt and its structure together with the details was the starting point. Once the play had begun, this start was followed by a process of transformation in which suits, trench coats, sportswear, and reporter jackets were reimagined and elevated to a new level in which minimalism predominated. From this moment on, everything began to expand and consequently amplify the idea of the paradox between silhouette and materiality, the ultimate goal of which was a constant awareness of the inner body and its corresponding liberation.
When someone frees themselves from something that does not suit them as a rule, they begin to develop their lives more fluidly, and this is what happened with tailoring, which went from being rigid to being loose, fragile, and soft, creating a fluctuating relationship between the body and the clothes. There is tailoring on cotton poplin, in true hybrid garments that exist in a new space between understood sartorial disciplines. Such ideas infiltrated all aspects of dress, but also accessories such as headbands and eyewear made up of unique pieces, which look like fragments captured from movement, and are sometimes surprising to the touch.
Surprising too were the three-dimensional decorations on some of the clothes, in which the idea of the floral print was reinvented through appliqués of bouquets and fringes, animating the static. Extending this idea, the utilitarian pockets move away from their function to act more as additional decorative devices. Ultimately, these garments reflect our natural state, the dynamic movement and constant transformation inherent to humanity.
Check out a selection of Prada’s best looks for Spring/Summer 2024 designed by Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons below:
