Okay, so there isn't any color in Prada's Spring 2010 show — not in the clothes, the runway, and even the backdrop. But the mix of black, white, and gray in different shades, textures, and patterns is admittedly mesmerizing. Who can help but get lost even in the names of the hues: stone, slate, ash, gunmetal, charcoal?
I love the frayed shorts in this first set. The vests, the tees. Even the coat and the jackets: practically everything! It's a bit obvious that I'm partial to monochromatic dressing.
If Miuccia Prada covered her Fall 2009 collection with studs, she riddled Spring 2010 with holes and perforations, from shoes and hats to shirts and vests. She actually just gave people in the tropics a new option for layering besides wearing sheer fabrics.
Of course, compounding the effect is the lack of sleeves. With the hats, the outfits look simultaneously strange, urban, and dated. This is also helped by the pleats on the pants, which maintain a sense of propriety. I'm not so sure though how we should wear her perforated pants, which reveal underwear.
The pieces seem deceptively simple, but the overall geometric effect of deep V-necked cardigans, the vests, and the sharp shirt collars is well coordinated. Also, no two pieces of clothing in a single ensemble seem to have the same texture and fabric.
There is a clear direction in the styling. The outfits already show how the items can be worn together, starting with shorts and sleeveless vests, before proceeding to long-sleeved cardigans and jackets worn with trousers.
The shirts underneath look silky and paper-thin. Even with single- and double-breasted jackets, these outfits still seem as casual as the ones above. Of course, with the additional sharpness.
Even when there is nothing perforated, the clothes allow the same swagger.
It really must be the shirts underneath, which both cover and reveal.
The separate pieces lead to numerous possibilities that can be worn by different people for different occasions.
Miuccia Prada, after all, is also an astute businesswoman.
She can see through not just the self-image of men, but also what is demanded by the market.