Frankenstein Meets Prada
Mucia's electrifying and hair raising show in Milan
“It’s ALIIIIIIIVE!”
If you’re a fan of sci-fi/horror, especially Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein,” then you definitely need to watch Prada’s Fall/Winter 2019 men’s fashion show. Prada paid homage to Shelley’s monster by placing his face onto pencil skirts (the show featured women’s looks as well) and his disembodied hands onto men’s shirts that were also covered with lightning bolts and roses.
The “electric” Frankenstein effect could also be felt elsewhere in the collection, with bright fuzzy hats and hairy patches on sweaters reminding us of someone sticking their finger in an electrical socket (Miuccia Prada’s sense of humor has always been a hallmark of the house). Heart patches pinned onto coats also reminded us of Frankenstein’s monster, a violent creature just looking for love. Prada said she found inspiration for the collection from people’s humanity and sensitivity, and from the “weakness and delicacy” of humans at a time of danger and fear. Even the set (foam floors, circuit board runway, and dimmed yellow lightbulbs) had a fantastical feel to it, isolated yet somehow safe and protected.
The show wasn’t all about Frankenstein and sci-fi, though; it was actually quite commercial for Prada. Military was the name of the game for this collection, with dashes of whimsy thrown in (it simply wouldn’t be a Prada show without it). Signature military coats and jackets, suits with high-waisted pants, multiple stacked belts fastening and closing both men’s and women’s jackets, and off-the-shoulder dresses with plunging necklines all made for a perfectly beautiful – and sellable – Fall/Winter collection.
“It came out naturally,” Prada said of the collection. “I didn’t know that I wanted to do it, but the only thing I had in mind was military.”
The mood did shift considerably from military at several moments, however. For instance, we saw the interruption of the disciplined military mood by the rock ‘n’ roll of bare chests adorned with multiple necklaces under open jackets. Speaking of rock ‘n’ roll, the show’s soundtrack featured harder-rock versions of music from “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” and “The Addams Family.”
If not for the great fashion, just watch the show for Gigi Hadid’s reaction. It was her first Prada show, and she cried. Something Frankenstein’s lovelorn monster could certainly relate to.