At Milan Men’s Fashion Week held recently, Prada showcased a few scrubs-like tops and oversize fanny packs, loads of loud orange, and some very funky bull’s-eye sweaters. Miuccia Prada described her menswear collection in bold colors and clear lines as “simplicity regained.”
Simply cut pullover V-neck shirts in cotton, and sometimes denim, resemble hospital garb and are worn over ample Bermuda shorts that have an A-cut more suggestive of a skirt. Tailored jackets have three buttons, but only two are fastened, allowing the brightly colored stripe along the button line — say, royal blue, or yellow — to peek through and are paired with skinny pants, a favorite of the season. Sweaters had boatnecks and featured bold stripes around the top.
The accessories were nothing if not postmodern. Sunglasses were wrapped around the neck. Soft leather bags were belted around the waist or carried with a handle that slipped over the wrist, bracelet-like.
The genius of Miuccia Prada is that she’s so far ahead of the game, her aesthetic can sometimes be lost on mere mortals, much less the fashion pack. Double denim, bum-bags, doctor’s scrubs, Livesaver jumpers — really? Isn’t double denim a passing chain-store fad? Obligatory citrus brights littered the navy-strong collection, along with hints of camel and stark surgeon’s whites. The slim three-button suit made a comeback, but this time with the addition of sporty neon accessories to keep it from being too Wall Street, more Oxford Street. The fashion forecast boys? The future’s so bright, you’ve gotta wear shades.
One of the biggest celebrity news items this week, is that Australian super model Miranda Kerr is now engaged to British actor, Orlando Bloom.
Maybe it’s a match made in heaven … while Orlando is off shooting movies, Miranda keeps busy on the runway. She recently strutted her stuff for Prada’s Fall 2010 collection in Milan fashion week, and subsequently got booked for the Prada Fall/Winter-campaign alongside Angela Lindvall.
FYI – in May 2010, Miranda was listed as number 9 on the Forbes Top 10 Earning Models.
On June 18, the Prada book will be at the center of an interactive library experience at the Garage Shop in Moscow. For three days, the Garage Shop space will be transformed into a mock antique library, with a few surprising twists. Wallpaper printed with rows of books will cover the walls, columns of Prada books will be made into furniture and Chesterfield sofas will contrast with the modernity of the Garage space, creating an intimate and engaging environment to experience the Prada Book.
For the entire period, the Prada Book event will completely takeover the one of a kind art bookshop in Moscow. The show ties in with a major exhibition at the Garage Center for Contemporary Culture, 100 Years of Performance (Version #3, June, Moscow) featuring artist Francesco Vezzoli and culminating in a performance festival in September.
The Prada book was launched in November 2009, and has been translated into six languages. The 708-page book documents the extraordinary partnership between Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli over the last three decades, and traces the experimental and groundbreaking work of Prada in fashion, architecture, film, art and beyond. It is the story of an iconic and revered brand that defies convention with every turn of the page.
Over 360 guests attended the American Academy in Rome’s McKim Medal Gala yesterday (May 26), as fashion and art powerhouse, Miuccia Prada received honors this year. The Medal was awarded to Ms. Prada in recognition of her exceptional achievements in fashion and business, as well as for her contributions to the visual arts as co-founder of the Fondazione Prada.
In the photo below (taken at the event), Adele Chatfield-Taylor admires the medal around Miuccia Prada’s neck.
The 6th annual event drew a glamorous, international crowd that included Miuccia Prada herself, Patrizio Bertelli, the Mayor of Rome Gianni Alemanno, Sid and Mercedes Bass, Adele Chatfield-Taylor, John Guare, Larry Gagosian and Shala Monroque, John Elkann, Pietro Valsecchi and Camilla Nesbitt, Zaha Hadid, Marco and Afef Tronchetti Provera, Carla Fendi, Franca Sozzani and Francesco Vezzoli.
Proceeds from the Gala support fellowships that provide both Italian and American winners with important opportunities to pursue their individual studies and engage in an international dialogue of scholarship and the arts. Funds raised by the event allow Italian artists to join the Academy community each year, and support an exchange program for scholars in the humanities that links the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa with the American Academy in Rome.
The McKim Medal was established by the Trustees of the American Academy in Rome in 2005 as an annual prize that honors an individual whose work internationally – most particularly in Italy and the United States- has contributed significantly to the arts and humanities. Named for Charles Follen McKim (1847-1909), noted architect who established the Academy in 1894, the Medal recognizes an individual whose work and life exemplify creative and intellectual exchange across the arts, scholarship, language, and culture. Previous McKim Medal laureates include Renzo Piano, Cy Twombly, Umberto Eco, Franco Zeffirelli, and Ennio Morricone.
It was a glittering affair, as the stars came out for Britain’s National Movie Awards 2010 in London yesterday. Not to be outdone, Gwyneth Paltrow stood out in a pink sculptural dress by Prada, and presented Tom Cruise with a Screen Icon award. To describe it: the top section of the dress overhangs in an A line, accentuated style - this is what makes the dress really unique. This is otherwise quite a 60’s style dress, but has clearly been given a futuristic update by Miuccia Prada for the runway.
