Prada F/W 2018.19 Milan

[Fiercification]

With a collection like that it's no wonder you have the 'pull every trick out of the bag' casting to try and mask it. There's interesting bits and pieces as ever, but overall the whole collection feels desperate and quite insipid in its frivolity. This isn't leading people anyway, as we are usually accustomed to with Prada pretty much every season in the past.

 

[orchidee]

Well it's just average for me. Miuccia certainly didn't push herself with this in the slightest. The past couple of seasons have made it clear that they're just putting loads of products out there, hoping it'll all sell.

 

[birdofparadise]

A outward looking partner in crime to Gucci's inward gazing conspiracy utopia.

Thoughts on questions of identity / identification are further developed from mens/pre-fall. Elements and silhouettes of comfort and athleticism are tinted in shades of pure emergency. The illogical is embraced and worn to protect / to announce. A Dear John, then, to a Europe falling apart.

 

[Bruce7Lee]

Like it or not this is gonna be their most hyped collection in a while and it sure does look like it's gonna sell well. The controversies definitely help to attract the younger demographic which clearly is the main costumer of the luxury brands now.

 

[mackos]

Prada is trying to hard when it was the perfect time to go for simple silhouettes, simple styling and new prints.

This. The opening look gave me such a hope it was going to be something clean and simple this time. Too bad.

 

[Spike413]

Aside from the deliberate use of elements which would be considered unappealing, there's really nothing about this which feels "Prada" at all. It's so loud, so in your face and garish and borderline stupid looking as to be completely unrecognizable, and that's increasingly been my feeling towards the brand's collections.

Prada was, for the longest time, one of those designer brands which much of the time managed to do and say so much with minimal effort and, at times, even minimal elements. These last few years, though, everything feels so effortful, and fussed over and deliberately styled to the hilt that it's inevitably pushed to quite an unflattering, caricature-esque extreme. Given its reputation as "the thinking woman's label", these juvenile outings of late feel so jarring and genuinely frustrating.

That's just a long winded way of saying that I find this completely comical looking and genuinely ugly to boot, and not in that ugly/chic way that was once Prada's stock in trade, either.

 

[disco54]

This is by far the WORST Prada show I have seen. Even for shows with "prada ugly" clothing, they were balanced by great shoes and accessories. Even that is missing here.

 

[Steddycam91]

I think this might be the worst Prada collection, yet.

Looking at it again, I absolutely agree with you.

Boy, is this collection a slog. Although in many ways this is a direct continuation of the pre-collection shown during menswear last month, it should have stayed that way. These ideas deserve 10-12 looks at the very most, not an entire catwalk show.

There's no touch of sophistication, no touch of elegance, no touch of rawness, and no touch of mysterious idiosyncrasy. It's just loud and clunky, and not at all in a perversely ironic Prada way. In that sense, I'm reminded of Katie Grand's output at Miu Miu.

It's crazy to think of the position that both Miuccia and Marc Jacobs used to be at, and where they are now. They were at the top of the high-fashion food chain, and had this sort of directional symbiosis that kept everyone interested season after season, leaving us wondering what direction they were going to take. But now Marc's adrift, and Miuccia's just desperate to follow and do a cash-grab.

 

[Pricciao]

Wow. The photos don't reflect half the truth of the moving clothes. That said, it's the ugliest color selection of all time. The hugeness of all silhouettes stood out though.

 

[RedSmokeRise]

I just want her to tone everything down, like FW 2013.

Revival of the flame shoes I'm fine with. Bringing back those ugly name tags... Why Miuccia why!

 

[Lola701]

What those that are saying that we are overreacting don’t understand is that it is sad to see Prada doing all the trends (even the ones that are fading) of the season in the most uninspired way. Even more because she is the one notorious for taking a step back and doing the exact opposite of what was done.
From the sneakers to the plastic, we have everything on here. We don’t need that from Prada. Even the way the bags are shown is so obvious. There is nothing subtle about this show and subtility was her strengh.

 

[Fashionstuff]

The worst Prada collection, imo.
I can't imagine somebody will buy all this mess.

 

[Fashionstuff]

What those that are saying that we are overreacting don’t understand is that it is sad to see Prada doing all the trends (even the ones that are fading) of the season in the most uninspired way. Even more because she is the one notorious for taking a step back and doing the exact opposite of what was done.
From the sneakers to the plastic, we have everything on here. We don’t need that from Prada. Even the way the bags are shown is so obvious. There is nothing subtle about this show and subtility was her strengh.

Horrible, i don't know who will buy all this, maybe the persons who buy because of brand "Prada". Miucccia tried hard to do all current trend- and all put in one collection, but at the end it is ugly collection, nothing with cool ugliness. Simply ugly.
And the bags are also not so good... simply bad this time.

 

[dodencebt]

As others have said, it's neither her best nor her worst show for me. I can see pieces that I like - the tweed coats with coated (perhaps rubberized?) sleeve ends and hems are great, the dresses with green and pink tulle overlay are straightforward and elegant. I especially love the neon paillette looks which are a great throwback to Fall 2007, a collection of monumental significance for me.

But then, the rest I either don't care for or I find really ugly.

There's no touch of sophistication, no touch of elegance, no touch of rawness, and no touch of mysterious idiosyncrasy. It's just loud and clunky, and not at all in a perversely ironic Prada way. In that sense, I'm reminded of Katie Grand's output at Miu Miu.

Very much agree with this comment.

 

[disco54]

It safe to say Milan is way worse than NYC this season lol

 

[mistress_f]

oh god what is this?
i really love like a total of maybe 5 looks but as a whole it's a mess and not a particularly entertaining one, and i say this as miuccia's biggest fan who's always found good even in less-than-stellar collections.

 

[gazebo]

Most of it is very juvenile - colors and shapes.
The styling and accessories kill even the nice, more mature shift dresses.

Why can't she take a risk to save her life (and company)??
Do something beautiful, clean and sophisticated, go against the grain...No risk no reward...

The accessories are vile.

 

[daisyhawkins]

So many insightful comments in this thread!!

To me it kind of seems like Miuccia tried to merge some of the current trends with signature Prada looks/silhouettes/moments but in reality it looks like a strange kinda throwback show incorporated with elements that made no real sense being there. I wonder if there has been an effort at Prada over the past few years to cement a more concrete vision of the ~Prada aesthetic~ and that's why the same familiar looks keeping coming back?? There doesn't seem to be as much variation season-to-season as there was ten years ago.

The show makes me question what's happening with Prada and why Miuccia stopped doing what she was doing when she was at fashion peak. If she was still generating the kind of products she used to I feel like there would still be consumer demand?? - I mean it's not like Prada was overly reliant on dominant trends and has fallen out of favour because its aesthetic is no longer 'in'. If anything I feel like this intellectual-design/hyper-kitsch era would be well-suited to Miu in many ways. Does anyone have any insight into why the change??

 

[rip_ian curtis]

So many insightful comments in this thread!!

To me it kind of seems like Miuccia tried to merge some of the current trends with signature Prada looks/silhouettes/moments but in reality it looks like a strange kinda throwback show incorporated with elements that made no real sense being there. I wonder if there has been an effort at Prada over the past few years to cement a more concrete vision of the ~Prada aesthetic~ and that's why the same familiar looks keeping coming back?? There doesn't seem to be as much variation season-to-season as there was ten years ago.

The show makes me question what's happening with Prada and why Miuccia stopped doing what she was doing when she was at fashion peak. If she was still generating the kind of products she used to I feel like there would still be consumer demand?? - I mean it's not like Prada was overly reliant on dominant trends and has fallen out of favour because its aesthetic is no longer 'in'. If anything I feel like this intellectual-design/hyper-kitsch era would be well-suited to Miu in many ways. Does anyone have any insight into why the change??

There might be someone missing that she used to work with. Someone with killer editing skills, excellent taste and wit. Manuela Pavesi comes to mind. Sometimes the people behind the scenes are the ones that come up with the best ideas that the audience ends up loving.

Also it may be hard for her to stay relevant, as she no longer is the only one doing the Prada look. Her past work has become fashionable, and everybody else does fashion the same way she used to do it, aka mixing a bit of utilitarian sport elements, a bit of vintage, a bit of "fashionized" non-fashion items, a touch of ugly and unsexy... and voilà, the Prada style is there.

As was mentioned, she should really try to forget about trends, forget about instagram and really question what she would like to wear and what her (former) clients would like to wear now. Make something chic and different, and see if any of that old Prada magic appears there.

 

[Phuel]

^^^ Great point… Someone that effortlessly reigned in the clutter must be missing from her team as of late.

I guess the inevitable day that Muiccia and the Prada brand is nothing more than a caricature of itself, and desperate to be down with the kidz has finally become a reality.

The austere opening look and the model’s icy attitude was such a fleeting moment of genuine sinister cool that sure didn’t last, sadly. Instead of its signature reigned-in coolness of ladylike futurism— it’s an all-out neon rave. What followed is so unbearably, insufferably trying to hang with InstaKidz. The forced Patagonia/The North Face utilitarian aesthetic with faux-techwear logo, and the day-glow color-palette… just such a letdown. Everything else is recycled, or standard Prada-vocabulary— which were so awesome back in its heydays, from the late-90s to the late-2000s. Here again under such youth-focused trappings, it just feels and looks desperate (down to the Prada logo on the bags looking like those Asian knock-offs…)

There’s a shot of the front row for the finale— all middle-age looking, with Anna Della Rossa unleashed, likely convinced how down with the kidz she/they must be for loving all this. When the truth is the all just come off clueless and late for the show for this type of fashion. Miuccia and Prada included.