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

RIVE DROITE

SAINT LAURENT BY
VANESSA BEECROFT

2023.02.15

Saint Laurent invites Vanessa Beecroft to photograph the Spring 23 collection: a selection of 14 polaroids is on display at Rive Droite stores in Paris and Los Angeles. 

COLLECTION

Gucci Après-Ski

2022.12.15

The Maison presents the new Gucci Après-Ski collection, a selection of garments designed for a luxurious and refined high-altitude season told through a retro campaign inspired by the relaxed atmosphere of winter holidays.

JACQUEMUS

"LE RAPHIA"

2022.12.13

Under a relentless rain of raffia, that breaks in like a summer storm, Jacquemus presents its new Spring Summer 2023 collection, titled “Le Raphia”. The natural fiber becomes the undisputed star moving from its raw essence to being extremely luxurious.

CELINE

Age of Indieness

2022.12.12

Age of Indieness spotlights an aesthetic raised from the indie-sleaze era of the 1990s and early 2000s, Celine’s Winter 2023 collection, designed by Hedi Slimane, walk the catwalk at the Wiltern Theatre in the heart of Los Angeles.

Fashion

Chanel
Métiers d’Art

2022.12.09

The Chanel Métiers d’Art 2022/23 collection, presented under the artistic direction of Virginie Viard, parades at the Palais de Justice in Dakar, capital of Senegal. The show is unique in terms of creativity, and a tribute to the savoir-faire of the place.