The upcoming Met exhibit entitled Impossible Conversations involves a sort of rally back and forth between the creations of former visionary Elsa Schiaparelli and current trendsetter Miuccia Prada. The pairing originally raised a few eyebrows.
There are some glaring differences between these two Italian women – time being the most obvious one. Schiaparelli closed up shop in 1954, and though innovative and highly influential, she does not have much as much of a direct conversation with the industry or women today as she once did. Meanwhile, Prada is very much alive and thriving. The brand has tremendous cultural recognition–and is in conversation, so to speak, with the industry all the time. Prada’s influence is impossible to ignore. So when Miuccia wanted 50s glam and tapped fellow tastemaker and frequent collaborator Steven Meisel to plunk models in a gas station for the spring campaign, we should have realized the ripple effect this would have on fashion imagery.
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