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| Prada harks back to golden era of cinema for lesson in restrained appeal | Prada harks back to golden era of cinema for lesson in restrained appeal |
| (7 months later) | |
| There are designers who make expensive, glitzy clothes for rich people – a lot of these designers show in Milan. And then there is Miuccia Prada. | There are designers who make expensive, glitzy clothes for rich people – a lot of these designers show in Milan. And then there is Miuccia Prada. |
| She too sells top-end fashion, and rather well it seems given the label's current buoyant profits, but with Prada it's always a slightly more complicated story. After all, this is the designer who made hits out of banana earrings, stacked raffia lace-up shoes and satin jackets with vintage cars on their backs. | She too sells top-end fashion, and rather well it seems given the label's current buoyant profits, but with Prada it's always a slightly more complicated story. After all, this is the designer who made hits out of banana earrings, stacked raffia lace-up shoes and satin jackets with vintage cars on their backs. |
| Her latest offering for women, shown in the Italian fashion capital on Thursday evening was an undoubtedly sexy affair though never in an obvious kind of way. That is not Prada's thing. Instead, running through the gorgeous 49 looks on the catwalk – there was not a pair of trousers in sight – was an air of a vintage film heroine whose wardrobe was a little disheveled and whose hair was wet, as if it had been styled straight out of a 1990s grunge-era photograph. | Her latest offering for women, shown in the Italian fashion capital on Thursday evening was an undoubtedly sexy affair though never in an obvious kind of way. That is not Prada's thing. Instead, running through the gorgeous 49 looks on the catwalk – there was not a pair of trousers in sight – was an air of a vintage film heroine whose wardrobe was a little disheveled and whose hair was wet, as if it had been styled straight out of a 1990s grunge-era photograph. |
| "You can't be romantic. There are so many restrictions. You have to control your feelings," Prada said backstage after the show. The idea of romance was balanced for the designer with rawness. "Raw elegance," she concluded was central to the look of the Prada woman this season. | "You can't be romantic. There are so many restrictions. You have to control your feelings," Prada said backstage after the show. The idea of romance was balanced for the designer with rawness. "Raw elegance," she concluded was central to the look of the Prada woman this season. |
| That explains the hair. It also explains the way dresses or tops were often worn pushed off the shoulder – to show a dash of flesh. For example, an otherwise prim blue and white gingham dress appeared with several of the top buttons undone. Or a coat with furry gauntlet sleeves – this statement sleeve shape appeared throughout the show – which was pushed off the back of the shoulder and worn with a red leather skirt. | That explains the hair. It also explains the way dresses or tops were often worn pushed off the shoulder – to show a dash of flesh. For example, an otherwise prim blue and white gingham dress appeared with several of the top buttons undone. Or a coat with furry gauntlet sleeves – this statement sleeve shape appeared throughout the show – which was pushed off the back of the shoulder and worn with a red leather skirt. |
| Certain things were carried over from the recent menswear collection – Prada said she would like to design more harmoniously for men and women but explained that it is just too difficult. Coloured leather coats and short Harrington jackets in the women's show also appeared on the men's catwalk in January. | Certain things were carried over from the recent menswear collection – Prada said she would like to design more harmoniously for men and women but explained that it is just too difficult. Coloured leather coats and short Harrington jackets in the women's show also appeared on the men's catwalk in January. |
| The dominant skirt styles were tidy pencils or slightly fuller shapes, though it was the new two-length, lop-sided shape, which is likely to be seen in a lot of fashion shoots come autumn when the clothes arrive in stores. | The dominant skirt styles were tidy pencils or slightly fuller shapes, though it was the new two-length, lop-sided shape, which is likely to be seen in a lot of fashion shoots come autumn when the clothes arrive in stores. |
| Dresses with beautiful embroidery, such as the opening look, also offered a kind of cinematic moodiness, which the set, featuring black and white silhouettes of girls and cats or dreamy muted landscapes, seemed to echo. | Dresses with beautiful embroidery, such as the opening look, also offered a kind of cinematic moodiness, which the set, featuring black and white silhouettes of girls and cats or dreamy muted landscapes, seemed to echo. |
| Gingham bowling bags and metallic heavy tread two-strap sandals both look likely to sell with the usual swiftness of a hit Prada accessory. | Gingham bowling bags and metallic heavy tread two-strap sandals both look likely to sell with the usual swiftness of a hit Prada accessory. |
| The Prada group reported a 29% increase in revenue last year. The Milan-based fashion house registered sales of €3.29bn in the year to the end of January 2013. All gloabl markets showed an increase with a 36% hike in Europe, 33% in Asia, 23% in America and 14% in Japan. | The Prada group reported a 29% increase in revenue last year. The Milan-based fashion house registered sales of €3.29bn in the year to the end of January 2013. All gloabl markets showed an increase with a 36% hike in Europe, 33% in Asia, 23% in America and 14% in Japan. |
| The cinematic flourishes in the autumn-winter collection tie neatly in with the work Prada has done on dresses for Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of The Great Gatsby, starring Leonardo Dicaprio and Carey Mulligan. The label has reportedly created crystal, sequin and velvet dresses for the film, which is released this May. | The cinematic flourishes in the autumn-winter collection tie neatly in with the work Prada has done on dresses for Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of The Great Gatsby, starring Leonardo Dicaprio and Carey Mulligan. The label has reportedly created crystal, sequin and velvet dresses for the film, which is released this May. |
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