Miuccia Prada may be a bit late to the party, but it was some party she threw for Miu Miu at the Palais d'Iéna in Paris tonight. Dior, Chanel, and Louis Vuitton held their pre-season extravaganzas nearly two full months ago in May. The last time Prada showed a Resort collection for Miu Miu at all was three years ago, by appointment in London. But not even Mrs. P. can ignore the demand—from stores, from magazines, from her own PR department—for new material anymore.
On the eve of the couture shows, Prada staged a Croisière collection of her own, recruiting on-the-rise British singer-songwriter Josephine Oniyama to do three songs during cocktails, and Jack White, who commanded the stage with his band after the three-course Italian dinner. In the crowd: Uma Thurman; Roman Polanski and his wife, Emmanuelle Seigner; the director Steve McQueen; Léa Seydoux; Nymphomaniac's Stacy Martin; Isla Fisher; Douglas Booth; the artist formerly known as Mos Def; Rem Koolhaas; and Marc Jacobs.
In between the two performances was the show itself—new material in the form of colorful suede micro-minidresses covered in crystals; mismatched paisley-printed blouses and flares topped with questionable hand-crocheted vests; spiffy, spongy military-button jackets and coats; and a loud, printed pantsuit of the sort seen elsewhere this season. The long, wispy scarves trailing some of the silk tops and dresses were a nice touch. You half wondered if Prada had spent the first part of the summer binge-watching the finale season of Mad Men. Nothing's ever quite that simple with this designer, of course. But befitting the commercial implications of the Resort season, this was one of her more straightforward collections, groovy in its late sixties and early seventies vibes, and just retro enough to appeal to the youthful demographic that is the Miu Miu target audience. It should please all parties. As for the party, it seemed to please Prada quite a bit. She was spotted in the crowd well into Jack White's hour-long, ear-splitting set.
