For autumn/winter 2011, Miuccia Prada's collection brought to mind the wardrobe of noted American aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart, gorillas and the swinging sixities.
In each Prada collection, there are usually three iconic pieces that become instantly memorable as soon as they appear on the runway. Think about the banana prints, the brightly coloured striped fur stoles and those striking Baroque sunglasses from the spring/summer 2011 collection. Perfect fetter for fashion editors, campaigns, visual merchandisers and high street copycats. For autumn/winter 2011, Miuccia gave us aviator hats and goggle-like glasses and trompe-l'œil boots.
One third of the girls sported aviator hats and glasses, including the two all-important opening looks. The look borrows from the aviation wardrobe – the hat, a classic design usually in leather with large earflaps and chinstrap is often worn with goggles. It first became popular at the beginning of the 20th century, when it was used to keep pilots' heads and ears worn when they drove open-cockpit planes. One of the most iconic figures in the history of female aviation was Amelia Earhart (born 1897), a noted American aviation pioneer, author and style icon. She set numerous records during her lifetime, including being the first woman to receive the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Beautiful, empowering and cool, Earhart's image was used to endorse luggage, Lucky Strike cigarettes and women's clothing. Her "active living" lines embodied a sleek, purposeful but feminine look. In 1937, she disappeared over the central Pacific Ocean near Howland Island. Fascination with her life, career and disappearance continues to this day.
The collection's silhouettes and details also made reference to the sixties, with the use of pailettes, Courrèges-like shapes and a print nodding to Yves Saint Laurent's 1965 Mondrian dress. If Earhart is the representative of female aviation, then surely the sixties would be Twiggy, who regularly sported Peter Pan collars, large buttoned, dropped waist coats and shift dresses. Miuccia Prada's genius calf-length trompe-l'œil boots mimicked Mary Janes worn with long socks, making used of coloured leather and contrasting animal skins.
The latter part of the collection brought to mind gorillas. Certainly not making use of gorilla fur (they are an endangered species and is therefore illegal) but the placement of fur on the primates. Miuccia's large hairy helmets and sleeves made reference to the fur on gorillas, who usually have bald faces, hands, feet and breasts. The designer used fur for s/s11 in brightly coloured shades for soft, sumptuous stoles; for A/W11 it was much longer and spikier.
The next Fashion Equation will be published in two weeks.
Research assistance by Yana Sheptovetskaya
Laura Bradley is the Commissioning Editor of AnOther and published her first series of Fashion Equations in May 2008. Tom Baxter is an illustrator currently living and working in London.
