Prada Fashion

Prada Fashion

Prada Fashion

Prada Fashion

Prada Fashion

Milan, Mar 1, 2001/FWD/--- Conservatism is back, not only on the political stage. Tonight Miuccia Prada, who today made The Wall Street Journal's 30 Most Powerful Women in Europe list, presented a collection of Puritan clothes that were so austere they'd make First Lady and former school teacher Laura Bush look glam. Which is ironic, considering the theme of Prada's Fall/Winter 2001 womenswear collection was the Wild Old West -- yet many of Miuccia's dresses would befit a Texas schoolmarm.

Ah, but modern-dowdy is Prada's specialty. Miuccia's deft touch can take the most outdated look and make it perfectly new. This time she did it by blending 1880s homesteader garb with the strict line of the mod 1960s -- think Mary Quant and André Courrèges. That meant empire-waist tie-back dresses, and short capes made of a stiff wool in dour colors -- black, chocolate, charcoal, burnt sienna -- sculpted into an absolutely clean and spare form. There wasn't one iota of anything to distract from each outfit's basic shape.

But that doesn't mean the clothes were plain -- quite the contrary. The shapes themselves were so bold and different from anything else in fashion recently that their nakedness seemed right. What's more, Prada often highlighted those shapes with super wide bands of mink on cuffs and hems, and strips of eye-popping violet or orange along the edge of plunging square necklines. This was particularly effective on her neat little boxy shifts, the look sure to be knocked off in garment districts worldwide.

As for accessories -- Prada's real bread and butter -- there was little to remark on. The new bag is a low-hanging shoulder number that looks like it's straight off the Pony Express. And the new shoe is a close-toe pump on a thick stacked heel, sometimes finished off with a skinny ankle strap. Both are solid, bankable designs that are sure to sell.

Prada Fashion

Prada Fashion

Prada Fashion

Prada Fashion

Prada Fashion