Do you have conversations with flowers? Intimate moments with blossoms, beauty and meditations on love fueled Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons AW collection where ideas of preciousness and the everyday merge in a pared back line up of hand embellished flower skirts (mini/midi/calf length), plain speak cashmere/wool sweaters and big outsize love worn suede blazers.
And there’s a lot to be said about skirts this autumn as the item, not seen in such abundance for a good decade, comes back to forefront of style. Miuccia Prada has relied on skirts (saucy pencil, flirtatious swing, or pleated lady styles) paired with a twin set or shirt and a heel, for most of her fashion life. She has channeled that obsession into countless winning collections playing with the ordinary meets extraordinary appeal of garm.
Midi Swing Skirt
@ellymcgaw // Instagram
"Fashion itself is part of real life - it has a use a purpose, both to dress the body and to express broader feelings, larger themes, around the individual and culture."
Miuccia Prada
@privateplaygroundof // Instagram
The new versions, in pure white duchesse, fine wool and crinkled leather have their own story to tell with Prada and Simons juxtaposing the embellishments of wedding attire in those origami embroideries with the strict utility appeal of army wear and nurses’ uniforms. Prada said she wanted to give importance to “what is modest, to value modest jobs, simple jobs, and not only extreme beauty or glamour.”
Their proposal resonated with the image of model Denyse Tumikunde in a white calf length skirt, pointy flats, and navy crew neck, one of the most cited looks of the season. Blossoms meanwhile appear in a giant scale in the campaign shot by Willy Vandeperre and scripted by Michael Cunningham - the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Hours (1998) – in which you’ll hear a cast of characters including Benedict Cumberbatch, Hunter Schafer, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Letitia Wright, and Li Xian sharing surreal thoughts with flowers. Zip up and listen in.
