Raf and Miuccia’s Prada menswear encouraged innovation and intimacy

“For me the clothing game is a wonderful game,” Miuccia Prada said after the first Prada menswear show co-designed by Raf Simons. “You change the way people see you, and also the way you see yourself.”

And certainly the duo’s first menswear offering of power, which came down through an online fashion show on Sunday, gave Prada fans a lot to play with.

Focusing on our need, as human beings, for physical communication, and our urge to exchange and connect the collection “about tactility and the physical feeling that clothing can give you,” he said. Simons, who joined the Prada complex a little less than a year ago.

So sensory stimulation came through leather, boucle fabric, jacquard knots and pinstripe wool flirting, and also through the abstract interior with a good eye through which the models walked. These were designed by Rem Koolhaas and AMO and were built from an unexpected mix of materials such as marble, resin, plaster and faux fur that are after the show, Prada plans to go up to specialized production centers and pop-ups, and finally provided to Meta, an event waste recycling and resale company.

“It’s a place of warmth, flexibility,” explained Miuccia, “designed to feel inside and out, and full of emotion and humanity.”

This inner difference was felt in the clothing itself, which tailored thermal bodysuits, illuminating the current tension between the real world and our lives. inside. “It is a collection connected to human emotions and connected to our present world,” Simons explained. “It’s all about tactility, sensitivity and contrast with architecture.”

In fact, these knit bodysuits – or Long Johns as Simons referred to them – were worn with every look in the show and were crafted from exquisite jacquard in classic Prada geometric prints. , to a thick mohair. The second skin that emphasizes the theme of resemblance and loneliness, all of these people can be defined as either childish or masculine and sexual but, Simons said, “should not be taken literally. We do not want it to be seen as a romance or Iain Fada, but as an abstract view of the body and hidden, as a representation of the body itself. ”

“If you want it sexy, it can be sexy, if you want it like pajama, it can look like pajama,” confirmed Mrs Prada, as she noted the many style opportunities that the clothes appear. Colorful geometric Prada thermal underlay goes under everything and anything, and with the weather we’re getting, it certainly seems like a very chic and sensible idea.

The silhouettes themselves were reduced and essential in structure, with tight pants and large comfortable tops as a mainstream. “We wanted calm in shape,” Simons said. “We don’t really feel it’s right right now to be too exiled and to look away.”

That said, a pair of leather gloves that came in a fire orange with a built-in card wallet would definitely be high enough to get a little look when they get into the tube.

After their last show, Simons and Mrs. Prada held an online Q + A that was open to all. This time they followed a similar format but only opened up the conversation to a selection of fashion, art, design, architecture and philosophy students from colleges and universities around the world. The intimate debate was not only a great way to nurture the next generation of creative people in the future but also, as Mrs Prada explained, “they can help us throw back difficult questions that are uncomfortable and make us think. ”

Self-reflection, change, and adaptability are something we all need to learn in the past year, and it is clear that Mrs. Prada embraces it, especially through the her new job with Simons.

“All my life I hated pinstripe and this show is full of pinstripe,” she said. “Sometimes it’s good to change your mind. ”