Power Dressing. Prada Spring 2014 was about female empowerment for Miuccia Prada. She celebrated a new-age power woman who wears her audacity and feminine strength. She brought colour and art to her Spring 2014 collection in more ways than one. Her sparkly, multicoloured designs were informed by the work of a number of contemporary artists, and so was the space where she showed her work. Prada commissioned artists Gabriel Specter, El Mac, Pierre Mornet, Stinkfish, and Jeanne Detallante to interpret the themes of femininity, representation, power, and multiplicity.
Those themes showed up on the clothes. Done in a palette heavy on black with multicolored embellishments and pops of deep jewel tones. Many of the pieces (including fur outerwear and handbags) featured colorful oversized female heads along with glittering embellishments. Other looks had bras cut into them in contrasting colorblocked colors or came very heavily embellished. Also worth singling out were the number of sportswear references including ribbed knee-high footless socks and ribbed pencil skirts.
As usual, Prada introduced several fresh ideas for spring, both in terms of design and styling. The collection was a walking update on a sort of pop-art inspired, political-art themed show, with playful ornamentation that worked on one level as think-piece on women and politics – the two things Prada clearly cares about the most. (Text Teuku Ajie)