The sweet smell of lilies lingered in the air of the Prada A/W 2023 show space in February last year, their heady aroma provided by enormous floral chandeliers that hung over the otherwise industrial Deposito space at Fondazione Prada in Milan (see our highlights of Milan Fashion Week A/W 2023). Revealed in parts as the ceiling rose – some delicately dropping petals on the gathered crowd – they provided an apt backdrop for a show Miuccia Prada described as ‘finding beauty everywhere, beauty of different kinds’.
Alongside co-creative director Raf Simons, Miuccia Prada used the nurse’s uniform as a starting point, its usually clean white lines here decorated with delicate floral appliqué. ‘These typical uniform garments, connected to the everyday world, are usually seen as minor, unconsidered,’ explained Simons. ‘So for this collection, we liked the idea of considering them, celebrating them.’
