PRADA NEXT GENERATION

Purpose

BUILDING ON THE FOCUS OF CONNECTION AND THE PLEASURE OF FUNCTIONALITY, FROM PREVIOUS COLLECTIONS. IGNORING GLAMOUR, AND THE HIGH STATUS THAT COMES WITH THE LUXURY FASHION INDUSTRY. BRINGING BACK BASIC FASHION STAPLES

UNIQUE TO PRADA, THROUGH THE IDEA OF INVESTMENT PIECES. CREATING A UNIFORM, THAT CONSUMERS CAN BUILD UPON, LEAVING THE CONSUMER TO APPLY THE CLOTHING. THIS UNIFORMED APPROACH ALLOWING FLEXIBILITY, WITH ONE PIECE BEING OPEN TO AND ABLE TO EXPRESS DIFFERENT THINGS, DEPENDING ON THE PERSON WEARING IT. TAKING A TRADITIONAL APPROACH OF THE ROLE OF CLOTHING AGAIN. RESPONDING TO THE CALL FOR AUTHENTICITY, THE CAMPAIGN WILL BRING THE FOCUS TO FEELING AND SENSES, GROUNDING AND CONNECTING THE CONSUMER TO REAL LIFE. THE CAMPAIGN WILL CONSIST OF 3 DIFFERENT SHOOTS, INCLUDING 3 IMAGES IN EACH SET.

THE SHOOTS WILL ALL BE AT DIFFERENT LOCATIONS AND WILL BE USED AS INDIVIDUAL SETS OF 3 AS WELL AS A 9-PART SERIES TOGETHER. LAID SIDE BY SIDE TO FORM A NEW ABSTRACT NARRATIVE OF FEELING AND SENSES. REFERENCING THE FW 21 PRADA CAMPAIGN, FEELS LIKE PRADA. PROMOTING THE REJECTION OF LIVING OUR LIVES THROUGH

TECHNOLOGY, INSTEAD LIVING IN THE MOMENT, AND ACCEPTING THE EVERYDAY. ESPECIALLY IN TODAY'S CLIMATE OF UNCERTAINTY AND THE COST-OF-LIVING CRISIS, ENCOURAGING THE CONSUMER TO ONLY LIVE BY THEIR MEANS… CONNECT

WITH THE DRIVER OF THE CAMPAIGN BEING THE IDEA OF VERSATILITY IN AN EVERCHANGING CLIMATE, THE PROCESS OF PICKING ITEMS FROM EXISTING COLLECTIONS WAS KEY AND VERY SELECTIVE. AVOIDING OVER PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION, PROMOTING EXISTING LINES. PICKING SELECTIVE PIECES THAT GIVE THE CUSTOMER A STAPLE WARDROBE THAT THEY CAN BUILD UPON, WITH ADAPTABILITY AND FUNCTIONALITY AT ITS HEART. WITH THIS AT HEART, IT WAS IMPORTANT THAT THE PIECES FEATURED IN THE CAMPAIGN BE ACCESSIBLE TO ALL GENDERS. REJECTING THE ADOPTION OF A BINARY SYSTEM IN FASHION, INSTEAD INCLUDING GENDERNEUTRAL DESIGNS, LEAVING IT UP TO THE CONSUMER AND THEIR IDENTITY. ELIMINATING ALL EXTERNAL FACTORS, AGE, SIZE, CULTURE AND GENDER.

PRADA TANK TOP F/W 22

A PIECE THAT HAS STOOD THE TEST OF TIME. EVOLVING FROM A TRADITIONAL LAYERING ITEM ORIGINATING IN THE 1900’S TO BECOMING THE KEY TO BEING A 90’S “IT GIRL”. (PULLAR, 2022) THE EPITOME OF VERSATILITY, THE TANK TOP BECAME SOMEWHAT OF A CULTURAL SYMBOL AS REPORTED BY MARIE CLAIRE (PULLAR, 2022), DUE TO THE TANK TOPS GENDERNEUTRAL APPEAL TO THE QUEER COMMUNITY. THEN QUICKLY BECOMING ONE OF 2022’S VIRAL PIECES, CROPPING UP EVERYWHERE FROM THE STREETWEAR SCENE TO BEING SEEN ON CELEBS LEFT RIGHT AND CENTRE. CO-DIRECTORS RAF SIMONS AND MIUCCIA

PRADA WANTED TO CONVEY THE HISTORY OF PEOPLE NOT THE HISTORY OF FASHION, THROUGH THE USE OF THE TANK TOP WORKED INTO MOST LOOKS FEATURED IN THE F/W 22 SHOW. MIUCCIA PRADA HERSELF

HIGHLIGHTING THIS AIM THAT THE TANK IS PART OF THE PEOPLE’S HISTORY – NOT FASHIONS. (PULLAR, 2022) AGAIN, DEDICATING A COLLECTION TO CONNECTION TO THE REAL WORLD NOT A FARFETCHED UNATTAINABLE NARRATIVE. SHOWING THEIR DEVOTION TO THEIR MISSION OF AUTHENTICITY.

Identification

PLEATED RE-NYLON SKIRT

I WANTED TO INCLUDE AN EXISTING PIECE THAT WOULD IGNORE GENDER BOUNDARIES. SOMETHING THAT IS TYPICALLY KNOWN AND SEEN AS FEMININE BUT FOR IT TO THEN BE PORTRAYED IN A VERY MASCULINE WAY THROUGH THE CAMPAIGN. A SIMPLE BASIC PIECE OF CLOTHING THAT CAN BE UTILISED BY ALL GENDERS. A TIMELESS PIECE AGAIN REFERENCING A MORE TRADITIONAL DESIGN FROM OUR HISTORY, WITH THE RETRO STYLE SUSPENDERS. AS WELL AS ADOPTING THE SUSTAINABLE APPROACH, THROUGH THE GARMENT’S MATERIAL, RE-NYLON – “A SUSTAINABLE FABRIC OBTAINED FROM RECYCLED PLASTIC MATERIALS IN THE OCEAN.” (PRADA, 2023)

THE PRADA TOWEL

RESPECTING THE MAIN INTEREST OF SUSTAINABILITY WITHIN FASHION AND GOING BACK TO THE BASICS OF WHAT YOU NEED FOR EVERYDAY LIFE, THE PRADA TOWEL WAS A MUST. ESPECIALLY FOLLOWING THE INSPIRATION OF PHOTOGRAPHER PIETER HUGO’S WORK DURING LOCKDOWN, THAT FEATURED ONE OF HIS CHILDREN WRAPPED IN A TOWEL. I LOVED THE RAW, RELATION TO REAL LIFE THAT HE HAD MANAGED TO CAPTURE AND KNEW THAT I WANTED TO RECREATE THE IMAGE THROUGH A PRADA LENS.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF INVOLVING OTHER CREATIVE ARTISTS WITHIN THE CAMPAIGN PROCESS WAS VERY CLEAR TO ME AS SOON AS I BEGAN MY RESEARCH. I WANTED TO CREATE SENSE OF COMMUNITY AND CONNECTION WITHIN THE CAMPAIGN. NOT JUST PERSONAL CONNECTION BUT A STREAMLINE STORY TO EVERYTHING INCLUDED AND EVERYONE FEATURED.

I FIRST BEGAN MY RESEARCH LOOKING THROUGH DIFFERENT I-D MAGAZINES FROM 2020 – THE PRESENT DAY FOR INSPIRATION. TO INCLUDE IN THE COLLABORATIVE STORY TELLING PROCESS.

Connecting The Campaign To Other Creatives

MUCH LIKE RAF AND MIUCCIA’S APPROACH TO THEIR F/W 2021 COLLECTION, THIS ISSUE OF THE MAGAZINE CREATED STORIES THROUGH STYLING, PHOTOGRAPHY, AND ANECDOTES. CREATING A SENSE OF PERSONAL PARADISE WITHIN EACH PAGE. THESE STORIES BASED UPON PLACES, PEOPLE, EMOTION, AND PERSONAL INSPIRATION.

THE POWERFUL IMAGES CAPTURED BY ZOE GHERTNER AND STYLED BY ALASTAIR MCKIMM TELL A STRONG STORY AND CONVEY A FEELING OF DISCOMFORT.

THE IMAGE ALERTING THE SENSES WITH THE ADDITION OF ROUGH SAND, AN ANNOYING ITCHY FEELING. A SYMBOL OF THE WIDESPREAD FEELING OF DISCOMFORT, IRRITATION AND DAZE BLANKETING THE GLOBE.