Prada Menswear F/W 2012.13 Milan

[Pricciao]

show in HD with original soundtrack

 

[Zazie]

Badly made Weimar period costume...

 

[Littleathquakes]

^thank you! after reading all the heaps of praises I was starting to feel isolated. it looks so costume-y

 

[mackos]

MILAN, January 15, 2012

By Tim Blanks

"Prada Presents: Il Palazzo. A Palace of Role Play."

If Miuccia Prada's invitation suggested a grand theatrical event, the setting confirmed it. The Prada show space had been reconfigured as a huge court, laid with a massive 20- by 35-meter carpet in red, white, and black. Later in the show, a parade of stars—including Gary Oldman, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, and Jamie Bell—would walk that red carpet rather than the one that was rolling out at the same time in Los Angeles for the Golden Globes. A part in a Prada performance clearly carries enough clout to draw marquee names. But then, this particular performance was something so extraordinary that it would surely seem irresistible to actors who might feel they've already done it all.

"A parody of male power," Miuccia declared backstage. The power was palpable. That giant carpeted red square (which in itself seemed like a conscious echo) felt like the flooring in a conference hall in one of the palaces where cabals of diplomats and military men once met to decide the world's fate at a turning point in history. The formality of the collection offered exactly the sort of clothes you could imagine them wearing: double-breasted suits buttoned high, astrakhan-collar coats, pinstriped jackets with a flower in the buttonhole. The men who wore such things would surely have valets, a point that was made clear when models stripped to the kind of crisp white cotton underwear that an Edwardian gentleman's gentleman would have recognized.

But this wasn't simple sartorial historicism. Remember, this was a parody of power. So nothing was as it seemed. Formal clothes were actually cut from denim; what appeared from afar as wool barathea or mohair was really cotton. Look closely at the ornate, baroque patterning on shirts and you'd see rows of American football helmets or feathered Native American headdresses. Tailored topcoats woven in jacquard looked more like silk bathrobes. And the formal white-tie neckgear was a mock turtle on a tee. An awful lot of ingenious thought had gone into making a statement about the emptiness of dressing to impress, while, at the same time, producing clothes that will entice men to do exactly that.

This Chinese-box ingenuity carried through to the last moment of the show, when nine professionals, richly rewarded for their role playing, paraded one by one around the red square, "as if following a secret script," according to the accompanying notes. If you accept that actors play archetypes, then each of them represented a particular kind of man. It wasn't only the accompanying soundtrack of Michael Nyman's music from The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover that cued Tim Roth as a gangster or Adrien Brody as a dandy. Gary Oldman was particularly impressive as the capo di tutti capi, in his breast pocket a pair of red-lensed sunglasses just like the ones he wore in his performance as Dracula. "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players." Shakespeare said it first, but Miuccia Prada showed it best for Fall 2012.

style.com

 

[lemeray]

I am in love with everything The casting (William Dafoe love love love him), the setting and stage, the historical references...amazing!

 

[pigleto972001]

I loved the show too! And the clothes...loved the sharply tailored coats.

I also really liked the soundtrack!! How do I get my grubby hands on it?!

 

[mackos]

I also really liked the soundtrack!! How do I get my grubby hands on it?!

Try here: #21

 

[Zazie]

^thank you! after reading all the heaps of praises I was starting to feel isolated. it looks so costume-y

You're welcomed! Look, Prada, with brooch! And when it's too damn obvious von Trapp p*rn, pretend it's really "irony". See..that's why actors were hired, wink, wink!

 

[softgrey]

yohji already did this ages ago...

 

[breebee]

I don't frequent men's fashion so I do not know what this is like in comparison to other collections or if it's been done before or whatever, I do know though that the show and the collection is great and I really enjoyed it. I absolutely adore Adrien Brody's outfit. That there is the perfect piece in the show for me.

 

[TianCouture]

Tim Blanks made everything make sense, but somehow the clothing doesn't make any sense...all those little details give me a headache. It feels wayyyyy over thought.

 

[TianCouture]

And as a side note, and I know there is really no model talk, etc., but I feel it needs to be said. Mr. Hedlund RUINED this show. What a stinker!

 

[margielamike2004]

As a rule..I usually DON'T like Italian designers. Too many of them are simply way too commercial for my taste. I don't think there are ANY Italian designers who refuse to advertise?? I like fashion...but not fashion displayed as status. Anyway.....

I usually sneak a peek at what the Italians are presenting...and I try to leave an open mind...giving each and all Italian designers the benefit of doubt.

Swallowing hardly..I MUST admit...this collection is nothing, if not incredible.

I've never been a Prada fan. I have liked a few collections Miucchia presented in the past (and now)..but never enough (as a whole) admiration to salute her with fireworks or a drum-roll.

Her use of color and print in this collection is terrific. The details may be a bit busy for others, but who truly wants to appear mundane??

There is certainly something very noble and imperial to this collection...a seriousness that seems to gather a meeting-of-the-minds...from different cultures and professions, of sorts. Aristocratic....Bohemian...

I truly never pay attention to any model(s)...I usually focus more upon the clothes and what the model are wearing. To me..models are secondary....the garment(s) come first. I might pay attention to makeup or hairstyles (to set a mood)....

She used several celebrities as models upon the runway...but as I stated, prior.....to me..they're just (famous) people who's profession puts them in the limelight. Willem Defoe or Barack O'Bama..who cares?? Does it truly matter whom??

 

[margielamike2004]

....and I also too close-note to the eye-wear.

I can't avoid the cliche..."It's like looking at the world through rose-colored glasses"

Looking towards the future with a positive outlook...hopefully, everything "looks" sweet.

 

[nqth]

Seems to be that there has been too many dark suits in the milan runways since PPR bought Brioni, but at least there's sth to talk abt in this show (like, the boxy and "ill-fitted", "stuffed" jkts look so comme, and costumes with moustache are sth yamamoto did few seasons ago). but it looks good with prada as well.

 

[mikeijames]

reading tim blanks' review, i'm not only convinced that this stands as one of those prada collections to which my eyes have not yet adjusted, but that much of the magic of this collection will reveal itself when the details present themselves. i cannot for my life even identify a denim piece in that collection which in and of itself strikes me as something remarkable.

 

[pigleto972001]

Try here: #21

thanks!! actually i liked the soundtrack on the prada website. started with piano and had some beats in the center...

also, i can't tell which pieces are denim either. they all looked like wool or silk. hoping more detailed pics are on the way

looking forward to the women's show

 

[margielamike2004]

it;'s hard to see the fabric as denim, because...I think the denim used is a very raw-denim...unwashed. I have a pair of Helmut Lang raw denim jeans in brown..and ppl think they're made of wool...including myself..until I touched them...hahaha!!

 

[Frederic01]

PRADA

 

[Frederic01]

PRADA