Prada Menswear F/W 2024.25 Milan

So, four years into Raf's co-tenure, this is what it comes down to:
when it's good, it's ok (like this season)
when it's bad, it's so bad it hurts.

It's painful to see this brand lose its fashion credentials season after season, at the same time when the suits are gloating about its financial performance (I guess those prices doubled or tripled out of nowhere made some sense in the end), with the press clapping their hands at every Miuccia and Raf's outing, in pavlovian unison.
The silver lining is: if even D&G are sort of claiming back some of their old glory, maybe, I say maybe, one day there there might be hope for Prada too...
 
Collection is lazy and quite basic but, I'm sorry-not-sorry, it has pov and the idea of Prada is still there. I am sucker for Prada men and have always been so I can whine how bad is that compare to "good old days" but I'll go and get one of herringbone suits in no time...
 
Collection is lazy and quite basic but, I'm sorry-not-sorry, it has pov and the idea of Prada is still there. I am sucker for Prada men and have always been so I can whine how bad is that compare to "good old days" but I'll go and get one of herringbone suits in no time...
Fight me for the herringbone, they are good. The only good pieces of the show.
 
the thick tweed pieces were the only relevant pieces. everything else was mundane.
 
this collection is so obnoxious it made me login into my account after YEARS just to vent and rant lmfao

i used to appreciate raf's design language, some of his collections from the dior era are absolutely beautiful, especially when he blended historical garments with dior's extreme femininity and romanticism sprinkled with his graphic/gritty/street influences.... but i digress lol those days are long GONE.

when im watching a collection sometimes a movie and/or a director will pop in my head, in this case the colours, mood and some of the shapes at first glance reminded me of Aki Kaurismäki's pictures, and i couldn't help but trace one or two parallels between the monstruosity shown here and Aki's AMAZING filmography.

even tho some of the colours and shapes are somewhat similar (a satured red or pastel element drowning in a mostly gloomy muted palette with very rigid, sharp and boxy shapes) what Raf fails to do is inject some humor, warmth and humanity in his designs, everything is so sterile, obnoxious and pretentious. On the opposite side, despite being rigorous and minimal to the point of almost being barren, Aki is able to make something alive, creative, humorous (albeit very deadpan) and HUMAN.

as the video progressed and more of the collection was shown, the similarities between the work of these two men barely remained on the shapes/colours and almost vanished lol. raf's work is tepid at best, he's so far up his *** and views himself as this great intelectual but is completely incapable of designing a desirable denim look despite having CK in his resume (as mentioned by someone above), its baffling and revolting. his eye for colour and proportion is getting worse, the thought of him trying to imbue some cerebral meaning to the goofy, unflattering, ridiculous tailoring with a ghastly colour pallette shown here makes me completely mental.

dont even get me started on the shoes, he's co-helming prada but cant make a decent sexy pair of MATURE footwear, its just bonkers how useless he is. speaking of maturity, the fashion industry as whole is guilty with being youth obsessed and blah blah, but RAF?? he just reeks of middle crisis, a 50 year old men trying to revive and cling to his """"glorious""""" teenage years of partying in a shody proto techno club in Berlin or Antwerp, his vision of what is cool and young is so passé and cringe (hedi is guilty of this too, but at least he has a finger on the pulse of todays youth culture, for better or for worse).

none of this feels new, it all feels dead, cold and stupid but what makes everything even worse is the pretentiousness of it all lol if he wasnt so pompous and full of self adulation his collections would be bearable. speaking on the positive-ish: he has a very recognizable and particular POV, but in all fairness idk if this warrants praise lol. this forum loves to drag MGC (which is justified tbh), at least she's a capable business woman and decent storyteller, sure her clothes are meh and uninspiring but at least they look good in person and are honest propositions despite the gimmicks, the same thing cant be said about prada nowadays, recently i saw a guy in person wearing raf's designs head to toe and it looked so BAD and shoddy mind you, he was a very tall, skinny individual with model proportions, if even the model types look objectively bad in his clothes i cant even begin to imagine what this would look like on the average customer.

perhaps i shouldn't have compared Raf to Aki's complex œuvre, he's more like emerald fennel's saltburn a vapid self aggrandising farce that only appeals and seems intelectual to clueless people with poor cultural capital and vast financial resources.

end rant lmfao sorry
 
I like it and loved the presentation. The collection itself is just so identifiably Prada that I can't help but like it and find some comfort in it. It would pair well as the male counterpart to Miu Miu F/W 2023. The trench coat looks (16,17,19,20) and look 41 (leather bomber jacket, white cap, glasses) are highlights for me. I do wish there was a clever print or two.

I do hope the womenswear collection isn't just this menswear collection re-packaged (which is how it's been slightly feeling over the past few collection).
 
Somehow, in Raf and Miuccia brains, the idea of using swimming caps with tailoring was amazing...the same with those strappy DIY cardboard-like sandals too! And of course, the concept of looking like an expensive hobo, with that oversized fitting gone mad.

Prada used to be desiderable. Now my only desire is that they stop making this kind of walking disasters season after season..
 
There’s not really a lot there, there.

I kind of like the first few openings looks…the shirt, tie, trouser and beanie…it’s a good throwback look and still has a that sort of geek-chic appeal. Im also not terribly mad at the denim looks or the trim-fitting trench coats.

But the rest is actually very unremarkable upon further inspection. In fact, a lot of it is very poorly designed with an even poorer fit.

They can dress it all up with a cryptic backstage inspiration brief and an impressive set, etc…but it doesn’t change that at its core, these collections don’t actually say anything.

Prada has no soul anymore. It’s really a shame. Seems like it all left with Manuela. Just like how Raf has absolutely nothing to offer without Patrick van Ommeslaeghe.
 
These fabrics I'm not so sure about. Bloody dreadful use of denim here too.

I'm sure these pieces on their own will look far better in store. The styling of this just doesn't work even though it's a clear reference to collections of the past. Like yeah there is a POV and an identity, but it's a pretty crap one at the moment.
 
Omg, this is boring and lifeless. It's lacking basically everything that makes Prada men stand out. This is just a parade of very calculated corporate merchandise. There's no fun, no risk in this. Even Miu Miu men are more desirable than this.

I'm so tired of the gimmick-styling headpieces on every look. Please find a new stylist that at least spice up this basic.

Miuccia should hang out with someone who has more fun.
 

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