MANIFESTO

#61

ART NOW

FRAGMENTS OF LIFE

2022.02.25

BY GUIA ORTOLANI

Raf Simons and Miuccia Prada in a commemoration of life and living, with a glance to the past, to traditions, colliding them in unexpected manners, an inversion of materials, of embroideries, and of garments, that agitate and disturb.

 

During the days before the shows, the teasers on social media were pictures of the models as children, and images of them nowadays. It was an anticipation of the FW 22 collection’s themes: mnemonics, recollections and quotations of a history of women, a conduit from the past to now. Tradition passes culture between generations, fragments of personal narratives, comprising a history.

 

There was still focus on unlikely combinations. The play of juxtapositions was at the core, it was both between garments, and within their construction: structured conventionally masculine pieces are interrupted with feminine, sheer taffeta mini and long skirts, soft dresses and tailoring blend to give new forms. The architecture of clothes affect their rapport with the body.

 

Pragmatic pieces are given new significance. Proportions are exaggerated, in particular for black coat dresses and for the oversize leather trenchs in bright colors. There were sophisticated shearling jackets and prada coats with colored faux fur on the sleeves.

A lot of Signature Miuccia grey, Prada’s heritage geometrics that translated to jacquard knits, minimal Raf turtlenecks and a new twist with Insta-friendly triangle logo tanks. The iconic triangle becomes also the shape of small accessories, that alternate to Soft leather bags in a wide color palette.

 

In practice, an ideology of Prada becomes an etymology of beauty. That is, centrally, the work of fashion:  the process of defining the meaning of beauty, for today.

“ You want to live again, to be inspired. And to learn from the lives of people. ”

– Miuccia Prada

“I think of revolutionary moments in Prada’s history, and we echo them here…There are never direct recreations, but there is a reflection of something you know, a language of Prada. “

– Raf Simons

LOUIS VUITTON

GHESQUIÈRE OCTOBER 2014

2023.09.20

The GO-14 bag, an acronym for Ghesquière October 2014, originated as one of the first creations to mark the designer’s debut at the head of the Louis Vuitton Maison.

NEWS

On Foot

2023.09.19

The exhibition On Foot, curated by Jonathan Anderson at Offer Waterman Gallery, will bring contemporary artists in dialogue with works of modern British Art and some interventions conceived by the designer himself.

EXHIBITION

MODE ET SPORT. D'UN PODIUM À L'AUTRE

2023.09.18

Ahead of the 2024 Olympics, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris presents Mode et Sport: from September 20th 2023 will be possible to discover the fascinating interconnections between fashion and sport from the ancient world to the present day.

V&A Museaum

FASHION MANIFESTO

2023.09.15

The first exhibition in the UK dedicated to the visionary couturier Gabrielle Coco Chanel – Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto will open on September 16th 2023 at the Victoria & Albert Museum.

JEWELLERY

A BAG BECOMES JEWELLERY

2023.09.14

From September 13th, the Kelly by Hermès will be the star of an exhibition in the Milan boutique of Via Montenapoleone, where the Kellymorphose retrospective will be staged, boldly and surprisingly reinterpreting the brand’s iconic accessory in the world of jewellery.