(Runway)
Prada’s Fall 2024 Collection Redefines The Parameters Of Power Dressing
Raf and Miuccia have another hit on their hands.
Our world is a strange and scary place, especially right now. At the risk of getting slightly too dark for a fashion show review, it can not be ignored that while our industry’s attention is currently focused on the luxury clothing everyone will be wearing next autumn, society at large is contending with unpredictable warfare, climate change, and an ever-shifting economy. Yet, still, we face the need to get up and get dressed every day. And perhaps even in these precarious times, don’t we want to look our best for any occasion that comes our way? Prada co-designers and dream team Raf Simons and Miuccia Prada seem to hold this dissonance of both global uncertainty and personal vanity in their Fall/Winter 2024 collection, which strikes me as elegant armor for the modern woman.
Strong silhouettes make the duo’s latest effort, even at its most feminine moments, a full-on power dressing moment. There are slim cut skirt suits, and sleek C-suite dresses (some crafted from sporty technical materials); tight second skin moto jackets are sitting atop crisp origami skirts. Many looks are accented with puffy protective gloves, militaristic hats covered in feathers, and aggressively pointed kitten heels. A few appearances are made from the sort of no-nonsense knee-high black boots that just look cooler the more they get scuffed up. In general, Simons and Prada are giving us the type of pieces we can confidently put on in the morning when we’re are feeling unsure of ourselves, an occasion when we want to look polished and just badass enough to command respect.
This said, what I find more interesting about this particular catwalk is its tender moments of softness: the whisper of lacy shorts tucked underneath a sharply cut midi, figure-hugging knitwear in candy brights, a streamlined separate with a silky panel in the back — with a surprising jolt of bright color, too. A few dresses include a luxe fur trim and bow details (which, despite being the trend that won’t quit, read surprisingly new against such angular designs) and several of the models hold bedazzled wristlet bags in the crook of their arms. Even the runway itself reflected this sense of something more complicated right below a hard and slick surface: just below a thick layer of glass, a layer of lush, wild greenery was visible.
Clothes, much like people, are often most compelling when they are self-possessed without sacrificing vulnerability, and Simons and Prada have brilliantly struck this delicate balance. This autumn, I picture the Prada woman as someone who doesn’t take nonsense from anyone, but can engage in wonderfully deep and open conversation. I definitely want to be her; but at the very least, I’d settle for raiding her closet.
Check out few key looks from the show ahead.
