Prada showcases fearless but feminine collection at Milan Fashion Week on catwalk lined with comic strips

The soundtrack also echoed the choppy energy of a comic, with snippets of songs from The Cure, Lana Del Rey, Suzanne Vega and Nirvana
1/20
Hannah Rochell22 September 2017

Comic strips of all styles - from pop art to manga - decorated the walls surrounding the Prada catwalk on Thursday evening, but there was one thing every illustration had in common: they were of women, and by women.

Amongst the female cartoonists commissioned for the show was one whose work included the speech bubble “What’ll I wear? I don’t want to look too femme but I don’t want to look too butch.” And as is always the case at a Prada show, the set was a clue to the clothing that was to follow.

Outfits were so busy they felt like comic strips themselves - a floral bodice over a striped shirt here, a spotty print with some leopard there - and most were a brilliant mix of traditionally masculine and feminine aesthetics.

Many looks involved girly smock dresses styled over cigarette trousers and shirts with buttoned-up collars, while pointed kitten heels were given the sporty treatment with knee high football-style socks.

AFP/Getty Images

“I wanted to show you can be feminine and strong and clever” said Miuccia Prada, speaking backstage after the show.

The designer was reluctant to use the word masculine to describe the collection, which will be music to the ears of the modern woman who chooses to wear flats because they are more comfortable or, like many of the models, cuts her hair short because, well, she just prefers it that way.

The soundtrack too echoed the choppy energy of a comic, with snippets of songs from The Cure, Lana Del Rey, Suzanne Vega and Nirvana all making brief appearances.

This, combined with Teddy Boy-style coats and lots of black and red, lent a distinctly rock n roll feel to the show.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in