Photo by Ken Howard, courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera
Remember the item about Miuccia Prada’s distaste for the “curvy” extras cast for the Metropolitan Opera’s new production of Verdi’s Attila? “I cannot clothe them! I need models!” she allegedly proclaimed. Well it’s unclear how that was resolved, but a live report from today’s dress rehearsal, via Parterre Box, gives us a hint of what to expect:
The costumes are runway-ready, all industrial leather and fur and boots and crumpled textures. Sometimes it looks rather silly. “Like my fur? It’s Prada, baby!” The Roman soldiers carry shields that look to me like enormous iPods. Coincidence? I think not! (Unsure what the connection would be, however!) The chorus dressed in jeans and rumpled designer t shirts and reminds me of Mark Morris' "Orfeo" just a bit. Are they a religious cult?
Prada, who lately has been mining motifs of past collections, has smartly done so for her Attila costumes. The leather strip fringe of her women’s dresses for fall 2009 now stream down a leather cape. The ubiquitous metal studs from the men’s collection pepper shoulders, a shirt front, and the tops of Attila’s boots. And the crumpled effect Prada used in her spring 2009 women’s collection now has a darker edge on long leather trenches, sometimes worn about the shoulders. The look is strong, simple, and clear. “I tried to express my vision of the characters from a psychological and historical point of view, and what they mean to me today[...] You have to do it in a way that is contemporary and understandable,” said Prada in a Met playbill feature.
Mockups for the set by Herzog & de Meuron look like they’d be right at home on the walls of Prada’s Tokyo epicenter store, which they also designed. The production, whose premiere I’ll be attending on Tuesday, is previewed and explained by Jacques Herzog in this short video.
More photos after the jump »
Fashion Law is the first book ever published on the legal issues surrounding and affecting the fashion world. Elise Bloom of Proskauer, Guillermo Jimenez of FIT and Barbara Kolsun of Stuart Weitzman are among the lawyers who contributed chapters, which cover everything from employment to intellectual property, licensing to marketing, international trade to real estate. Fashion Law is currently available at www.amazon.com.
After the livestream of Prada men’s collection yesterday, we expected to find nothing more than a short archival video of the show on the brand’s e-commerce site. Instead, Prada has gifted us with more online exclusives:
Want a glimpse? We’ve got the
First Spring video and campaign photos after the jump.
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Twitter users who tuned in for Prada’s livestream of its fall/winter 2010 menswear show complained of small dimensions, poor audio/video distortion, and busy camerawork. Indeed, the quality was not on par with Burberry Prorsum’s yesterday, but the timing–both in terms of the clothes and presentation–was impeccable, asking and answering many questions about the direction of Prada as a brand (and the consumer as participant in that brand).
For this collection Miuccia Prada revisited one of her favorite haunts—the 1970s. From far away the silhouettes seemed familiar to the point of generic. But as the camera caught the models closer up, it revealed fresh and intelligent proportions and fabrics. Natty blazers, trousers with a hint of flare, double-breasted car coats and jackets. Instead of a rough and cynical veneer, Prada gave her man a handsome vulnerability, belting cardigans at the waist and showing sweaters shrunken to just below the navel. Between shades of beige and camel came shocks of red, yellow, merlot, and dark blue prints that read like chain link fences, tire treads, and camouflage. Slick back-belted coats in tan and black vinyl featured one of the collection’s leitmotifs, contrasting funnel necks laid open over the collar. A smattering of women’s resort looks recapitulated the themes in oversize sweaters and mod-ish coats. The overall effect was a confident but unselfconscious take on retro dressing.
More review, images, and the entire show video after the jump.
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Military dress has long informed men’s winter fashion; it’s one of the few corners to which traditional menswear can stray without alienating the mainstream customer. So it’s refreshing when a designer presents a collection that adopts the theme without getting mired in its clichéd and costumey elements.
For Burberry Prorsum’s Fall/Winter 2010 show, Christopher Bailey turned the rigidity, the fabrics, and colors inside out—sometimes literally. Outwear featured heavily, with classic pieces amplified in silhouette and detail. The show opened with mid-length overcoats with softened or minimal lapels, brass buttons above the back vents, a zip detail at the waist. These, and several of the other looks, were paired with fur-lined boots and canvas and leather bags. Clearly the Prorsum man is battling snap blizzards and gadget overload in the city and not bunker raids and shrapnel in muddy trenches.
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With men.style.com now under the GQ umbrella, it’s unclear how immediate the site’s coverage is going to be for this season’s menswear shows in Milan.
But Prada insists on no delay. It will stream the show live on Prada.com. US viewers should set their alarms for noon New York time on Sunday. Did someone say stodgy?
Less surprising: Burberry will livestream its Milan show at 6pm on Saturday.
UPDATE: GQ.com will be providing up-to-the-minute coverage of the men’s collections, along with Twitter updates from the GQ editors.
Come meet Kenneth Cole for the exclusive launch of the 925 Technology Silver Edition Footwear Collection at the Kenneth Cole Rockefeller Center Store, 610 Fifth Avenue at 49th Street from 9–10AM. Get there early and meet the designer himself.
9 – 10AM, come meet Kenneth Cole for the exclusive launch of the 925 Technology Silver Edition Footwear Collection at the Kenneth Cole Rockefeller Center Store, 610 Fifth Avenue at 49th Street. Quantities are limited, so get there early!
Come meet Kenneth Cole at the Kenneth Cole Rockefeller Center store, 610 Fifth Avenue at 49th Street, on Friday from 9 – 10AM for the exclusive launch of the 925 Technology Silver Edition Footwear Collection. Quantities are limited – arrive early!
for the exclusive launch of the 925 Technology Silver Edition Footwear Collection – “The most comfortable shoes a woman has ever looked good in… Guaranteed.” Get there early and meet the designer himself – Friday, August 7, 2009 from 9 – 10AM at the Kenneth Cole Rockefeller Center Store, 610 Fifth Avenue at 49th Street.
at the exclusive launch party for the 925 Technology Silver Edition Footwear Collection – “The most comfortable shoes a woman has ever looked good in… Guaranteed.” Be at the Kenneth Cole Rockefeller Center Store, 610 Fifth Avenue at 49th Street, on Friday, August 7th, 2009, 9 – 10AM.
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