Prada Prescribes Love and Other Drugs for Fall ’24
Review of Prada Fall 2024 Fashion Show
By Angela Baidoo
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
THE THEME
The language of love is universal, and now more than ever, less words are needed and more positive – read heartfelt – actions should take their place. But to talk about love in a time of immense global strife may be one of the few ways in which progress might be made.
Working on instinct, as they do, Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons gave us a lesson in Love 101 for fall 2024. A love for women, a love for history, a love for fashion. Explaining backstage Simons said the meaning behind the collection encompassed “fragments of beauty and fragments of history, but also a love for fashion and for history, but it’s not nostalgic”. That may have been the case for the duo but while watching the collection unfurl one model-at-a-time, certain fragments of the history of femininity could be spotted weaved into the threads of a skirt suit (the power dressing 1980s), a bow-trimmed dress (the swinging 1960s) an apron-style skirt (the 1950s homemaker), a high-collared blouse (demure Victoriana), and a sharp take on utilitarian futurism. All projecting – and questioning – one notion or another of feminine beauty.
The bow is known as a universal symbol worldwide used to adorn the gifts we give to loved ones. The have also come to symbolise femininity and love. And while it’s certain that the design duo did not deliberately try to play into the #Coquettecore trend doing the rounds on TikTok – as they are nothing if not leaders of predicting or shifting the zeitgeist – fans of the trend and the brand will buy into it nonetheless. The bow is a “cliché of femininity” according to today’s notes, but when multiplied as embellishment, it encourages the viewer to question why these clichés still persist.
The sweetness was cut through with strength – in the form of leather biker jackets and technical utility dresses, as a way to show how the ‘Instinctive Romance’ of the show’s title is not one-size-fits-all. According to the notes its about leading with emotion to challenge beauty ideals, as opposed to over-intellectualising, what works for you, works for you, don’t overthink it.
There was a through-line to the menswear collection that had been shown the previous month, but mainly through the use of the same tailoring and outerwear fabrics, and colourful twinsets, which creates a nice synergy. But while that collection was a study on the return to workwear and man’s often fraught relationship with the outdoor world i.e. nature, for the fall 2024 women’s collection the team went inside and looked to a woman’s relationship with her inner world i.e her heart, so a strong emphasis on silhouettes from the 1950s and 60s in all their prim and properness drove the point home. But, the skirt was the star of today’s show. Having been in their skirts phase for a fair few seasons – trousers, when they do make an appearance, often do so as slim capri’s in multiple colourways, as if to not steal any shine from the skirt. Here it was a case of the opposite of ‘don’t look back’. As each model passed, what first appeared to be a relaxed blazer and pleated skirt to the front, disclosed the back panel of a waistcoat and satin slip (these were the fragments the show notes were referring to, as inner layers were peeled away and exposed). Classic Prada! Full circle skirts were expertly cut and secured into the waistband in deliberate folds so they sat away from the hips, or they were pencil skirts resembling a giant trouser cuff – surely part of Prada and Simons concept of “exaggerated verticality”.
THE BUZZWORDS
Sweet and sassy, party in the back, love strikes the right note.
THE SHOWSTOPPER
Look #7
#Coquettecore fans rejoice, as Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons have created the ultimate girly uniform to lead the pack of pretty princesses living out their girlhood dreams.
THE DIRECTION
THE QUOTE
We touched on the idea of romance, which is perhaps a taboo to mention, in this moment, especially within fashion. There is a sense of romance to this collection – of values of love and caring embedded in the clothes. Love between people, romantic but also familial. And it is not so much a theoretical statement, but a conversation about emotions.
You cannot erase the history of beauty – the history is what defines our ideas of beauty today. We always go back. In this moment which is such a complicated moment it is vital to know your history. Who you are, where you come from. You can only realise your future if you know your past.”
Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons, Co-Creative Directors, Prada
THE WRAP UP
Without explicitly commenting on the state of global affairs, the design duo has set out their opinion on the way forward. And despite it being a sentimental view, it is no less valid than all the solutions that have been put forward thus far, and thats simply love. But will it – or can it – be enough? Can revelling in romance or falling in love with your life change anything? In short, yes and no, because it couldn’t hurt to return to a sense of humanity, which is something that, yes, only love can bring about. So, in following the lead of Prada and Simons next fall, we won’t have to ask ‘Where is the love?’, because we’ll be wearing it on our sleeve.
