I was walking past Prada in Singapore when I chanced on their display window for the Spring/Summer 2014 line, and all I could do was to just stand there and take it all in. I think the exact response was a loud gasp and me clutching Mr. T’s hand in my stop-walking-because-I’m-going-to-ogle-this-for-5-minutes stare, along with me jabbing pointing excitedly at the window.
If you’re a regular here you’d know that I’m long drawn to abstracts and color, and the happiness that the combination of these two can create – hence my fascination with their current line. While it looks great on the store display, I wasn’t quite sure if all of the pieces are wearable in real life (yes, after I settled down for a bit) – some of it are a little too embellished and out-there for my tastes – I’ve always approached fashion interspersed with visual art with an eye that scopes out what looks editorial first and foremost. Having embraced color and pattern only for the past 5 years in my wardrobe has made me inch closer to wearing the colors and patterns that match the insides of my brain, but there’s only so far I’d go. I might need a bit more time!
The model’s accompanying boxy bags reminded me of small canvases that had somehow doubled as a bag too (though obviously less chunky), bringing the decoration of the female form to a complete artistic display.
I did a big of digging to see the entire collection online, and while I’m not a fan of some of their pieces (particularly the realistic portraits smacked center in some pieces and bags), I do adore the more minimalistic pieces, with their playful mix of color and abstracts. Also worth noting are the murals done up for the runway, done by muralists El Mac, Mesa, Gabriel Specter, Stinkfish, Jeanne Detallante and Pierre Mornet. It’s like the models were walking through a gallery!
From Elle UK:
[quote] Prada had commissioned these artists to do ‘something strong, to paint faces and bodies of women, but in the end they only painted faces, so I thought I had to provide the bodies’. And provide she did. [/quote]
[quote] This was an orgy of colour, embellishment, sportswear, streetwear, glamour, elegance and cool. What better way to zero in on female empowerment than to focus on the bra? They came festooned with jewels, embedded on coats in jet beading, worn over skinny sweaters with striped sporty ribbed collars and cuffs, as a bejewelled top in sunflower yellow, as a black detail on a green dress, or forming a scarlet bra-shape on an orange fur coat. [/quote]
