MILAN — “It’s a mix of the sophisticated and things that look plain vulgar,”
Miuccia Prada said backstage, pulling forward a glitzy oversized blazer before greeting the front row guests Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti. They were treated to the designer wiggling the crystal fringes on her Miu Miu skirt.
On the
Prada runway there was a deep sexual surge as models stepped out wrapped in shearling coats with bright and woolly edging. There was also a more discreet version: a tailored coat piped in gold and a cognac-color dress underneath.
It was a choice — and one quite often taken up — to pair a boxy jacket with a wispy translucent dress that revealed underpants patterned like they might be for children.
The show was in just the same spirit as the men’s wear collection in January, where glamorous female models outshone the males. This show was even dismissive of the few males who walked the square runway, covered in carpet underlay. In the pit was an orchestra and the Berlin actress Barbara Sukowa singing Kurt Weill songs from the heart.
Ms. Prada sent out a striking show last season using blown-up prints of artists’ faces. But she has not produced for some time a collection that was arresting, mesmerizing and filled with strong clothes.
Included in the show Thursday were accessories and bold, flat shoulder bags. The wedge shoes had a hefty industrial look and skinny scarves seemed suspiciously like purloined male neckties.
This was Ms. Prada as female triumphant, offering women chic dresses in the familiar, awkward, ugly 1970s wallpaper patterns as well as the ability to dress primly in an elongated black satin shift dress.
For any woman who wants the right to choose a varied but powerful wardrobe, Ms. Prada is her woman.
