Say No To #WFH, As Prada Hints The Era May Be Over
Review of Prada Fall 2024 Fashion Show
By Angela Baidoo
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
THE THEME
As if taken from the set of a twisted dystopian thriller, the show-space design for Prada’s fall 2024 outing mimicked an identikit office environment – one which many have tried to escape, and show no desire to return too, and for good reason. But, as the editors and buyers in attendance looked beneath their feet, what was revealed was a metaphorical suppression of nature itself. Trapped, as it was, beneath a glass floor, just out of reach of the average office-worker (who will have likely promised themselves daily, to get out during their lunch hour for a walk in the park, but instead powered through until it was time to clock-off), art was imitating life once again.
As many corporate and tech giants have begun to mandate that their workforce return to the office to work – rather than the hybrid-work many had become accustomed to – there has been a collective re-assessing of what is important on a day-to-day basis, when it comes to the necessity of work. And close to the top of that list is the ability to actually carve out time to spend in the great outdoors. On the flip side, there has also been a desire to return to getting dressed for work, even if it remains 10 feet away.
Enter Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons collaborative effort for fall 2024 – a season, and year, which is sure to solidify once and for all the direction of travel of ‘The Great Return’ – where all pretenders to the throne of formality have fallen away and all that will be accepted is a crisp cleanness. Cut close to the body the slim fit of the collection may not be best suited to anyone who has over-indulged during the #WFH revolution. As even casual denim looks were sharp enough to satisfy the strictest of office attire rules.
In the fine-tuning of the back-to-work uniform, there was the acceptance of the need for clothes which could be adapted (as in nature). The strict tailoring and business-first approach made way for modish smart-casual combinations, before divesting slightly into the world of ‘Twee’ with contrast knitted twin set combinations, the utilitarian (canvas or tweed utility jackets), and the nautical. Which went some way towards expanding the parameters of the work uniform and acknowledging the need to provide options for time off-duty.
THE BUZZWORDS
Office appropriate, nature Vs man, clean slate
THE SHOWSTOPPER
Look #10
Appealing to those who may need to slowly transition back to a sense of formality, textured knitwear and neoprene leggings can be paired with the leather slippers shown to create a new off-beat formula for life back in the office.
THE DIRECTION
THE QUOTE
The changing of seasons enables human beings to continue to look at the world with fresh eyes… ‘The Rite of Spring’ has inspired generations of musicians to reinvent themselves… fashion aspires to the same effect of renewal.”
– Miuccia Prada, Creative Director, Prada
THE WRAP UP
Prada, today presented a world (nature) within reach, but one which we continue to assuage for the artificial environment of the office. A rebalance is what is required and using the seasons in nature as a jumping off point, this collection was approached as a way to facilitate a sense of renewal, of smartening up and wiping the slate clean, in the mind and on the body.
