THE ENCHANTED WAY

The fall winter 2009 Prada lookbook is disarmingly refreshing and a clear response to the bland exercises provided by other designers. Personally, I’m not the biggest Prada fan. I’ve never succumbed to the clothes (although I’ll admit to owning a small Prada nylon rucksack in the nineties) but I examined the lookbook with a mixture of utter amazement and enjoyment. In fact, the after-effects will probably create a taste of the style adopted by other brands in the future. I’m unlikely to find a lookbook as good as this one for a while and you can’t deny its importance. It is so interesting to find the spirit of fun introduced to the world of clothes. The collages, masks, bold line drawings etc fracture the traditional lookbook in a stimulating way while preserving a sense of harmony and continuity. I think it’s a little masterpiece, bold in design and execution (it is reminiscent of a small fashion publication). So it looks like things could change and we might be seeing more artistic, surreal and less rigid specimens, tinged with fantasy. It is so nice to see that a long-lasting planned trajectory can suddenly be turned into something completely new. It seems like a surprising step for Prada but of course it will have been carefully considered and makes perfect sense. APC is another brand touched with fantasy and surrealist elements. Its 2009/10 campaign was shot by Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin and the first released image is enchanting. It is a carefully arranged photographic collage mixed with paint and a texture that remains realist. I’m aching to see the rest of the rest of this campaign!

All pictures courtesy of Prada. To view the entire lookbook, click here

Third image courtesy of APC

Prada
Prada1
539e8cf0d1b6ac26_apc

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

so. freaking. cool. prada ads (and apparently look books) usually get me more excited than the actual clothes.

and i love the a.p.c. look book - jessica miller is always ravishing! and, she has the perfect hair.

Anonymous said...

wow! thanks for sharing! the look book is so inspiring that i want to do some photoshop and collage now...! :D

heleen said...

Alot more interesting than the uninspired lookbooks I've seen lately

Laura McLaws Helms said...

I saw this the other day and was as blown away as you were- it is so nice to see a designer using their lookbook as a way of communicating their vision instead of solely as a way of illustrating their wares in the most boring and rigid way.

fred said...

Prada lookbooks are always perfect..

E.K. said...

I like Prada, consistency never hurts.

leeselooks said...

the moon photos with the boys is so intense....
in love with it.

prada boys are always so cut & stunning, hey?


oh girl, your posts are pure joy.
i swear when i read them i get lost in your words and am captivated by your flowing stories + descriptions.
hands down. better than almost every magazine article out there.

have a beautiful weekend.

x

Liberty London Girl said...

It is utterly beautiful: but useless as a lookbook, no? As an editor I want to see the looks: I've already been inspired by the show...LLGxx

Anonymous said...

I couldn't agree more. It's art through fashion. I love every single one of your posts! x

KATLIN said...

it is indeed nice to see designers, esp those at the caliber of prada, lv, etc, push the boundaries with the way they present their clothes. we can't always look at slick, airbrushed images of awkward posing models.