In a Prada showroom revamped for the new season, a man-made stream murmured over rocks and rustled leaves. A fashion crowd sat in blue office chairs arranged to form a swirling runway, with nature and work as the backdrop for a show that seemed to ask humans what they are suited for. Co-creative director Miuccia Prada and Simons brought a sense of the outdoors inside with the fall/winter 2024 womenswear collection, called Instinctive Romance. “This is a collection that embeds the contemporary world with fragments of history,” the duo said backstage. “There is a romantic idea of beauty that transcends time – synchronous echoes recontextualized, a modernist vision of what we are.”
The designers embraced a mix of contrasts, starting with an all black dress with flappy embellishments in which the models looked like birds with a feathery wing of tulle attached to their back. The duo cut dark wool skirts to reveal a white or colourful silky layer underneath or behind. They matched leather trench coats with slouchy drawstring trousers. The look was finished off with a hat resembling a pilot’s cap, which could have been seen in the film The Big Sick by writer-director Natasha Lyonne.
Throughout the show, there were references to the past, including an image of a hotel room from 1913 that appeared on a dress and the sleeve of a jacket. The designers also cited the industrial heritage of the city of Milan, where Prada was founded. The show’s title reflects the notion of instinctive romance and a desire to create a new sense of beauty that isn’t shaped by social media, where beauty and power are often inseparable.
A sense of domesticity was evident in the sleeveless dresses, some adorned with floral-like bows and others crossed with raised foliage. The duo also incorporated uniform details in the shape of sleeveless sheaths and body-hugging knitwear. The Prada woman, who was dressed in the warped version of domesticity envisioned by the duo, is poised and mature, but still eager to try on new shapes, a feeling reflected in the short blazers that belted over skin-tight formalwear.
The collection was rounded out by a selection of men’s looks. A slouchy brown suit with a leopard jacquard, Prince of Wales check suiting and military-inspired cargo pants were among the male pieces on display.
Aside from the uniform elements, the duo used a lot of raw, distressed and faded fabrics that suggested a hard-wearing wardrobe for work or play. Aside from the suits, there were silk faille shirts with flowery and geometric prints and a tuxedo-style dress with a black leather trim. This was a Prada collection that was hard to dismiss. The designs are bold, but not brash, and the duo did a solid job of establishing a clear sense of identity for the womenswear line that is distinct from its men’s and accessories lines. The result was a collection that feels fresh, with an air of sophistication that could be a good sign for the future of the brand.
