Video filmed and edited by Celia-Jane Ukwenya. Words by Elliott James Sainsbury.

Minimal, but with lots going on under the surface. A reverse focus from big ideas to small details. If Prada’s first collection of the decade looked a little bit familiar, then these facts were it’s saving graces. It’s a Monday night, and the warehouse-sized grey venue and black and white chequeboard floor gave clues to the aggressively sharp, mostly grey collection that followed. And, bizarrely, so did the canapes afterwards. Chewy, squashy bread squares covered in cheese, served on a bar made of foam blocks.

That meshy, open-textured airtext brought air coursing through Mrs P’s latest. These are the impressions that most will take away, with mesh trenches, trousers and open knit cardies layered up for effect. Like a sleeveless v-neck over a polo, or mesh cardigans over half size turtlenecks. Dashing, but were these combos actually one piece, a feat of well cut trompe l’eoil to keep you cool next summer? Trompe l’eoil definitely did feature in jackets with embossed, fake buttons, plus a run of blown up dogstooths, checks and herringbones that may or may not have been printed on.

There’s always too much to say about Prada- she is menswear’s finest fortune-teller for a reason- so I’ll just list a few more. Grey leather gym bags! Ties! A new sleeve length, cropped just between elbow and wristbone. Art nouveau, Libertyish prints. Perforated black hats. And suddenly it doesn’t feel so minimal anymore. And funny that, approaching a decade from its revival, the cardigan is still going strong. In Prada’s world, they are back, back, back.

Prada spring/summer 2010

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