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Prada: Defiantly Golden
By: Godfrey Deeny
Photos by: Gruber-FWD
Milan, Sep 29, 2001/ FWD/ --- After the truncated season in New York and the gloom of London, Miuccia Prada restored a little bit of
hope to fashion with a stellar collection of exhilaratingly gilded and defiantly new clothes.
Even by her own high standards, this was a powerful statement about style and sensibility which will influence
countless lesser talents and hundreds of imitators. Miuccia’s refined finale of golden brocade and silvery
paisleys was a far cry from the somber endings of her recent shows.
Set to a cool jazz soundtrack, Miuccia opened up with some superb knits – aran cardigans in steel gray and
caramel that looked chic and comfortable - and wonderful shirts that came in patterns and fabrics normally
reserved for pocket handkerchiefs.
But her best ideas were in the construction of the clothes. Skirts came with the upper half in mesh and the
lower in padded denim, pleated like a Roman centurion uniform. Sleeveless tops came in rumpled gold with
frilly frontal strips. And we predict that her mannish striped shirts with mono-color cuffs and collar will
provoke an enormous run on grandfather shirts from thrift shops.
The Prada trouser for next season is flared, low-hipped and worn with a low-slung matching belt. And while
to-the-knee skirts have dominated the season so far, Miuccia’s proudly strut three inches above the knee.
There wasn’t one bag on the runway, perhaps not surprisingly given the inordinate amount of copying every Prada
hit bag is subject to. But there were dozens of sure-fire hits on the models' feet – especially the pointy
court shoes with buckles and straps, many of them in brocade.
The whole collection was arty but extremely wearable, and, above all, unlike anything we’ve ever seen before.
Prada
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