Her latest presentation took the unusual (for Prada) step of mixing men's and women's clothes together, but after it was all over, Miuccia herself insisted there'd always been an umbilical connection between the collections, and, in this particular case, it had been so inescapable that it made perfect sense to show them together. So the pre-fall looks for women shared fabrics, silhouettes, and an enigmatic early-seventies sensibility with the men's clothes for Fall. The keynote outfit might have been a huge pink waffle-knit sweater over a short, geometrically printed skirt. It suggested a moody receptionist, or, perhaps, a trendy student, as did the cropped shearling worn over a cardigan with leather-covered buttons. Another print, a jigsaw of pink and khaki, looked like a candy camouflage. In a coat-dress, it had a teen-beat sweetness that was more suggestive of Miu Miu than Prada's main line, especially paired as it was with the chunky-heeled, big-tongued shoes. The candy motif also popped up in buttons as big and round as gobstoppers. In the past, Miuccia has admitted she'll test herself by using fabrics she actually hates. This time, it was moleskin's turn to be tailored into coats and jackets. But the moleskin was easier to love than a group of vinyl looks that gave off a heady whiff of polyurethane as they breezed by. Prada's collections always reward reflection, but, as we mentioned elsewhere, this one's send-off was a big, bold "to be continued." We'll bide our time for some resolution.
