It’s Blue Monday and we are all feeling the bleak back-to-work (or WFH) feels. But at Prada’s AW22 men’s show in Milan last night, Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons delivered a vision of office attire well worth jumping out of bed in the frosty dark for.
And, in case we needed any convincing of the merits of a tailoring-meets-utility Prada workwear wardrobe (we didn’t), the pair roped in an all star cast of Hollywood A-listers to give the runway show some pizazz.
Twin Peaks’ legend Kyle MacLachlan opened proceedings in a double breasted navy wool coat, pale blue nylon tailored trousers and shirt and was followed by an all-star case of actors, among them Queen’s Gambit and Love Actually star Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Sex Education lead Asa Butterfield, award-winning Moonlight actor Ashton Sanders and 18-year-old Jaden Michael, star of Netflix’s latest series Colin in Black and White.
Closing the show in the Deposito of the Fondazione Prada was outspoken Prada fan Jeff Goldblum, swaggering the runway in an overcoat with mohair armbands and hemline trim, black leather gloves and a smouldering gaze.
The IRL runway moment gave a celebratory end to an otherwise fairly quiet Milan men’s fashion week, plagued by the decision from several brands to cancel their in-person shows due to the Omnicron threat; among them Giorgio Armani, Gucci, MSGM, and JW Anderson, which was scheduled to present its first menswear runway show in Italy this season.
The collection itself, entitled ‘Body of Work,’ was a celebration of the working wardrobe, from professional tailoring through to utilitarian overalls. But rather than the latter coming in denim or canvas, these functional pieces had been Prada-fied and came in shimmering silks and buttery leather. Overalls and bombers become as smart and office-appropriate as a three-piece suit.
An exaggerated, body-shaping silhouette of nipped-in waist and power shoulders was seen across wool coats, colourful leather trenches and tailored jackets, which paired with colourful leather gloves and pooling silky tailored trousers made for workwear that, in all truth, was far too fabulous for any office.
But in many ways that was really the point. Whether boardroom-bound, kitchen-desking or very much off duty, Raf and Miuccia set out to give “a sense of occasion… to everyday activity,” as the show notes read.
And certainly Goldblum in Prada mohair is the sense of occasion this Blue Monday needs.
