Prada Men's RTW Fall 2009

Miuccia Prada has an uncanny ability to judge when to go against the tide, and when to succumb to it. Before her dark and brooding men’s show, the designer said this was no time “to invent things that men wouldn’t understand or be interested in. A neo-conservatism seemed new.” And so she turned away from provocation and sexual ambiguity, turning out a more commercial collection revisiting some elements from her greatest hits of the Nineties, when tech-y, urbane utilitarianism was the ruling aesthetic. Still, Prada(Prada Sneakers) managed to create a new, somewhat sinister mood via an industrial set and an ominous soundtrack. First out were impeccable, double-breasted gray suits and coats with peak lapels, shown over narrow trousers with high cuffs. There was lots of supple black leather, laser-cut into T-shirts and unstructured cloaks, stirring memories of “The Matrix.” Black leather pants made a comeback, as did Prada(Prada High Tops Women Sneakers)’s triangle nameplate, affixed to the backs of nylon pullovers. Instead of iconic knapsacks, models lugged boxy and sturdy bags made from combinations of leather and nylon. The audience, seated on risers around a small, carpeted floor, straightened up when punkish hardware suddenly appeared. Metal studs and grommets came as trim, on collars or lug-soled shoes, or paved large swaths of otherwise conservative garments. “I used lots of studs but in a way that doesn’t symbolize aggressiveness or rebellion,” Prada(Prada Trainers) insisted. Indeed, the designer even showed a rarity this Italian season: striped dress shirts – although hers were hardly standard issue, riddled with studs or rendered in offbeat colors. Like the collection in general, they were both wearable and fashionably distinctive—an elusive combination that everyone in Milan is seeking for salvation.