Prada Spring 2014: Mundane It Was Not

According to Grazia, Miuccia Prada asked a variety of muralists and illustrators to “create a backdrop around the subjects of ‘femininity, representation, power and multiplicity […] each painting depicts a different image of femininity. The women on the walls represent the multiplicity of guises that women assume in the course of a day, a lifetime'” for the Prada runway show. Needless to say, Spring 2014 was about female empowerment for the designer.

Done in a palette heavy on black with multicolored embellishments and pops of deep jewel tones, Prada was very obviously inspired by artwork. Many of the pieces (including fur outerwear and handbags) featured colorful oversized female heads along with glittering embellishments. Other looks had bras cut into them in contrasting colorblocked colors or came very heavily embellished. Also worth singling out were the number of sportswear references including ribbed knee-high footless socks and ribbed pencil skirts.

For a brand with such a strong global presence, it was a decidedly niche offering, but one has to hand it to the designer — she never lacks in the originality department.