the MateriaList: Miuccia

How do you button up a shirt that's turned around on your back? You leave it undone and put on a reversed vest that also fastens around the back. Add a tie that's more like a harness. And so on.
Punctually, each new Prada show delivers the shock of the new. Or does it? Meaning I don't like it, I really don't like it and then eventually I do. It always takes a few days to process it. Would I wear it? No. Would I want to? Of course.

This time it's all sleek and minimalist, some would say it's that standard nylon Prada heritage. Instead it's not, and the fabrics are super-luxe. It's more of a riff on the work of Prada-alumni Raf Simons and Helmut Lang mixed with the multi-plagiarized collection of last year's Miu Miu or maybe the extension of such collection to the boys. I expected a return to sportswear instead it's still glossy and formal, but deranged. A northern European palette (Black with Red, Charcoal with Royal Blue, Gray with Yellow) and the underwear on the outside applied to menswear. The keyword is "straps:" Bibs, Jockstraps, Bustiers, Garters. Cummerbunds that are puffy mini-mini-skirts.
How does she do it? And why is she such an isolated force in fashion?
Most of all: how is the brand name so huge for clothes that are so impenetrable? Such courage.
Sure there's Comme, but it's beyond quirky and defying trends. Sure there's Margiela: but is he alive or dead and we are just witnessing a string of (forever brilliant) re-editions?
The Motto endures: Prada or nada.