PRADA FW21 POSSIBLE FEELINGS II: TRANSMUTE
DENIZ AKKAYA
Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons’ Prada Fall/Winter 2021 womenswear collection is inspired by the idea of change and transformation, opening possibilities!
A fusion between disparate themes and intents mirrors the nature of humanity: a belief in the fact that men and women each hold the masculine and feminine within themselves. This collection explores the space that exists between conventional polar opposites – the point between simplicity and complexity, elegance and practicality, limitation and release, transmuted.
A freedom to transgress boundaries of convention is mirrored by the freedom of the body, its energy, delineated through fitted bodysuits in stretch jacquard-knit, representations of and substitutions for exposed skin. Emphasis on the body serves to highlight action, activity, further underscored by garments with a softness and inherent ease – the attitude of movement, transposed. Pleats and gathers animate dresses.
Tailored suits express a universal classicism – paradoxically, vents allow glimpses of the body, unconstrained. Physical freedom reflects an ideology. Clothes are translated from one intent to another – ornament can become functional, the pragmatic can become decorative. There is a shift between their essential languages. The obvious is re-engineered, so evening-gowns become utilitarian jumpsuits and tailored coats are proposed in bright color or executed in paillettes, transforming and mutating between antonymous purposes.
Traditionally gendered fabrics are recontextualized. Embellishment is structural, economical, and combinations and juxtapositions of surfaces evoke a tension. This is mirrored by the multitextural environment that envelops the models.
Following the screening, a conversation was held with Marc Jacobs; Academy Award-nominated filmmaker, director, writer and producer Lee Daniels, electronic musician and DJ Plastikman architect Rem Koolhaas, and actress and artist Hunter Schafer. During the conversation, “What is Prada-ness?”, the thing that makes Prada Prada, and what the essence of the brand means to them personally was discussed. Speaking about the urgency of the climate crisis, Raf and Miuccia said that the objects in the room, which are used to present both menswear and women’s collections, will be upcycled.
