“In this moment you can’t avoid talking about subjects that are relevant. For instance, nature.” As Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons jointly explained, the thinking behind their Prada autumn-winter 2024 menswear collection was intimately entangled with the notion of our natural environment – how we are insulated from it, and how to go back to it. Simons addeded: “Most people’s screensavers are nature but then at the end we sit in this very synthetic human made environment.” A menacing tension felt palpable once the models, dressed as corporate commuters, walked on the raised glass floor with a stream running through a meadow beneath. The patches of highland greens contrasted with the synthetic green of the wool caps worn on the runway. The collection itself consisted of ultimate classics of menswear, as Simons listed for “the businessman, the working man, the thinking man.” Most wore ties. The Prada twist was touches that subverted these safe spaces of identity, enticing the wearer to surround himself with nature. Narrow-fit raincoats, tweed chore jackets, three-button gray topcoats, and gold buttoned naval outerwear all offered a route outdoors. This was a Prada outing that offered safeness and quintessence, clothes-wise.
Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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