HIGHLIGHTS
Purpose and Values
A fusion of disparate elements to form a connected whole - Synthesis, the new incarnation of 365, invites a closer view of the accessories from Prada’s Resort 2018 collection, as photographed by Willy Vanderperre. These images juxtapose lightbathed, tightly-framed portraits of model Kris Grikaite, with ‘portraits’ of the season’s bags - inspired by the Osservatorio, the venue of the Resort show, this sequence of images observes the key shifts, changes and evolutions in a classical cannon of Prada accessories, reinvented for the new season.
Fresh faces and new sides to established Prada classics are uncovered here - two fundamental Prada bags, the Cahier and Etiquette, are reinvented, reimagined for Resort with new palettes, artworks by Prada collaborator James Jean, and a fresh exploration of texture and materials.
A new version of the Prada Cahier bag is presented with an eased and relaxed structure to create a fresh attitude. Originally inspired by the metal-strapped, leatherbound diaries of old, repositories of intimate thoughts and precious memories, the strong rectilinear shape of the Cahier is softened through a pliant new construction, lending the exterior a new delicacy and fragility. What remains through these seasonal evolutions is the notion of the Cahier as precious, closely-held, cherished. Something to treasure.
The Prada Etiquette, a mold-breaking, code-shifting new Prada accessory pillar, combines notions of luxury and anti-luxury by exposing the Prada women’s ready-towear label on the exterior of the handbag, the first time the private, intimate garment tag has been exposed and utilized as an innovative new status symbol, an almost-logo. Highlighting the fundamental links between the Prada ready-to-wear collections and their accessories, the Etiquette can be seen as a microcosm of the entire Prada universe - questioning ideas of branding and of status, highlighting superlative craftsmanship, and occupying an unusual space between private label and ambitious, aspirational logo. The Etiquette presents a designer label as never seen before on a bag.
For Resort 2018, the Etiquette and the Cahier both feature bold new artworks by longterm Prada collaborator James Jean, of original illustrations engineered as prints on leather. Jean first collaborated with Prada a decade ago, on the Spring/Summer 2008 collection and an accompanying animated short, Trembled Blossoms. The new custom art underscores the themes of delicacy, fragility and femininity that preoccupy the Resort 2018 collection. Inspired by the sinuous lines of Art Nouveau graphics, the designs combine imagery of flora and fauna - particularly rabbits, redolent of spring - in a sugared colour spectrum of white grey and powder-pink.
Here there is a fundamental synthesis, a connection between these portraits highlighting both the femininity of the woman and the femininity of her accessories. Side by side, they highlight a shared heritage - both the woman and the accessories she cherishes are fundamentally, quintessentially Prada.