After months of anticipation , yesterday afternoon , the moment many of us have all been waiting for finally arrived. The debut of Prada’s first collection since their announcement of Raf Simons’ appointment as co-creative director alongside Miuccia Prada. The SS21 collection was presented digitally and it seems to have ticked all the boxes of what one would imagine a Miuccia x Raf Simons collection would look like. Considering the current circumstances amidst the pandemic, a lot of the collection was shaped by the social restrictions , but the notion behind it was the idea of uniformity. The collection touched on different definitions of what a uniform should look or feel like , both through the eyes of Raf Simons as well as well as Prada being visual representations of identity as well as a representation of shared values.
Each look throughout the collection felt carefully constructed, with elements of both designers being quite evident. It was like a painting of some sort — Miuccia gave one brush stroke, followed by Raf’s splash of paint which all came together to create a picture that was not extravagant or questionable , but rather solid and finished. There were pleated skirts paired blouses with holes, hoodies paired with pleated skirts and kitten heels and many other other elements that had evident traces of both designers. Many pieces throughout the collections are held in hand , or drawn around the body, artworks by Peter de Potter one of Raf’s long time collaborators were transformed into prints but it also saw a revisiting or some of Prada’s archival prints. This collection felt like a perfect harmony, orchestrated with equal effort, perfectly setting the ground for that which is to come .
Earlier this week Saint Laurent presented their Men’s Spring Summer 2021 collection in a digital project curated by Creative Director Anthony Vaccarello entitled “No Matter How Long The Night Is.” The collection which is presented in video format set against the various backdrops of Paris, New York & Beijing is a unique fusion of different artistic mediums including video, augmented reality, 3D lenticular imagery, street posters, flags and many others . View the full video & collection below and on ysl.com
Celine Homme SS21 , entitled “The Dancing Kid,” was centred around the idea of teen spirit as creative director Hedi Slimane drew inspiration from the work he did with Tik Tok star Non Eubanks as one of the faces of his SS20 campaign. This year’s collection, prepared in parallel with the winter collection centred around ideas of youth culture as a sartorial documentary about the e-boys, skate culture and an attempt in capturing the essence of an entire generation that turned boredom and confinement into creativity and innovation.
For the collection, Slimane worked with six artists including Tyson Reeder, Jesse Harris, Gregory Edwards, Ryan Ford, Amy Sillman & Turpentine who all contributed in different ways to shape the final result. Each piece told a different story, which ranged from luminous embroidered leather jackets, to lacerated jeans alla Slimane, as well as new Celine Z trainers that will be available for purchase later this year. View the full “The Dancing Kid” show below.
Last week on the occasion of Milan Digital Fashion Week, Prada put their best virtual feet forward with a presentation entitled “Multiple Views SS21 – The Show That Never Happened.” The digital show — which is allegedly Miuccia Prada’s last solo show before the Raf Simons partnership — took the form of a 10 minute live video, that showcase the SS21 collection interpreted through the lenses of 5 different creatives, being Terence Nance, Joanna Piotrowska, Martine Syms, Juergen Teller and Willy Vanderperre. Each artist created a film that showcased a different view of the Prada collection and at large , the Prada ideology and identity, which served as a representation of flexibility and multiplicity, in a time where many are not able to commune, a different kind of community is then established.
Throughout the collection, this season the house opted to focus on simple garments with use, value and longevity as the key themes. The collection is constructed around the quintessence of the house of Prada, its meaning, how clothes are worn , where and why. The meaning of multiplicity and compound uses , as paradoxes through sportswear, formality, classic and futurism are explored. The collection was co-ed and for menswear the silhouette was sharp, narrow and fitted , while for women couture volumes and treatments were explored. Leathers, cottons, taffeta , nylon , and other innovative fabrics are tailored with the flexibility to tell the stories that the wearer wants them to tell. Overall the SS21 collection is a much needed dose of simplicity during a time of chaos, the type of simplicity that can bend to whatever way you choose and embrace complexity yet still avoid chaos.
For Men’s SS21 , Dior’s menswear artistic director Kim Jones shared his mic with Ghanian-Born Vienna trained artist Amoako Boafo for a collaboration which presented the fruit of a cultural conversation between the two artisans. The conversation initially began in 2019, when they met at the Robell Museum in Miami and ever since, the two have been in discussion about their love and admiration for each other’s work.
Kim Jones personally has a special love for African work as he considers the continent as home having spent years of childhood travelling across Botswana, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kenya & Ghana which allowed him to feel a genuine connection to Boafo’s work that speaks to a contemporary African lifestyle . The artist is known for work like his Black Diaspora portraits which are an exploration of his identity and perceptions of Blackness and Black Masculinity. Aspects of these paintings are transposed onto garments with haute couture techniques. The collection used the artist’s work as base, which essentially was not only evident in the techniques used to reproduce his paintings but also through the colour palette used in the collection. Shades of fluorescent yellow, blue, coral and green create a delicate colour scheme while other pieces acted as a canvas for embroideries , knitwear and intarsia. The collection , as described by the house as “a reinvention of its passion for excellence through captivating dialogues between fashion and creation in all its forms, from painting to film .”
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