14 May

PRADA FW21 – “In the mood for Fashion” ( Raf Simons )

Prada Fall/Winter 2021 Womenswear Collection, entitled “Possible Feeling: Transmute II” , streamed live on the official Intagram account and on Prada.com on February 25^th, marking one year of COVID-19 but also one year of collaboration between designer Miuccia Prada and co-creative director Raf Simons.

After the digital show, Prada presented: “Prada Intersections” – an online conversation with designers Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons, featuring Academy Award nominated film maker Lee Daniels (Prada designed the costumes for his new film – The United States vs. Billie Holliday), actress Hunter Schafer, musician and DJ Richie Hawtin aka Plastikman, designer Marc Jacobs, and architect and writer Rem Koolhaas. The Q and A was moderated by Derek Blasberg, head of fashion and beauty partnerships at YouTube, and the discussion was about the collection, the creative process around the digital shows without audience, the Prada DNA, as well as the different challenges in today’s fashion.

Actresses Hunter Schafer, Kim Tae-ri, Lashana Lynch, Mei Nagano, Katherine Langford, Chun Xia, Taylour Paige, Asami Mizukawa and Anya Chalotra were captured by photographer Ethan James Green while remotely watching the video show.

The set of the runway was designed by architect Rem Koolhaas and AMO, who developed the idea of “the passage of time” by imagining several connecting rooms in geometric forms, covered in a variety of colored textures, faux fur and marble, creating “not only a narrative architectural context for the collection but more of a feeling context”. (Simons). The original show space is available to experience in 3D on Prada.com.

The materials decorating the set of the Prada FW21 men and women shows will be upcycled, reused and finally donated to Meta, a circular economy project based in Milan which works in collaboration with La Réserve des arts.

For the FW21 women’s collection, Prada’s inspiration comes from the idea of change and transformation, opening new horizons. The collection aims to discover the boundaries between simplicity and complexity, elegance and practicality, limitation and release.

The glamour looks proposed: rectangular wraps in faux-fur and paillettes, fitted bodysuits in stretch jacquard-knit – representing the freedom and the energy of the body, evening dresses were designed like utilitarian jumpsuits – so ornament became functional, tailored suits with vents which allow glimpses of the body and coats in bright colors. New forms of outerwear were constructed in re-nylon, faux fur, jacquard and sequins.

The show’s soundtrack created by Richie Hawtin aka Plastikman- a mix of syncopated hypnotic beats and charged rhythm of driving percussion, transported the viewers from a certain intimacy to a more playful ambience.

Redefining texture and touch, Prada FW21 collection is about feeling – both emotional and tactile, expressing a strong excitement for the future full of hopes and optimism. For a full experience of the show visit the official Prada Instagram account as well as Prada.com.