It’s time to be skinny again, as you could have been when you were a teenager

The emphasis on the waist, made even more trim by the broad-shouldered shirts and the shorts worn high on (or even above) the natural waist, were the key proposals at Prada for spring/summer 2024. The shoulder were not designed to accommodate over-built deltoids. Oftentimes, they were padded—and extended—to give an impression of broad shoulders, but not, thankfully, those that Thor’s would be able to fit into. The shorts, also thankfully not terribly brief, were nipped in the waist, which rendered a svelte narrowest part of the torso that is uncommon among adult males, unless the very young. Men generally do not wear a shirt and think about the waist or how to emphasize it to make it appear the result of sustenance on liquids that are not beer or its kin. This is not the equivalent of the hour-glass figure; this is the extreme ectomorph.

Prada sent out their lanky boys at the usual show site in the Fondazione Prada. The set is typically minimalistic. This time, more industrial than before. Less than a minute after the first model appeared, a stretch of clear gooey substance flowed from the ceiling at what seemed like random intervals to the floor, forming a clear vertical screen that—thankfully, again—did not become some gelatinous entity that could be attributed to the Blob form the 1958 movie of the same name. The well-behaved viscid material flowed right through the runway floor, which appeared to be grating, probably installed to provide drainage beneath. Prada has been particularly interested in letting things descend from the ceiling these past seasons, but this time, whatever came down divided the audience and the models, as if to show two worlds. It was amazing no one watching put their hands through to see what’s on the other side, even when one of the two songs soundtracked by Nine Inch Nails, was, ironically Closer (the other was A Warm Place).

Back to the shirts. A large number of them were not the shirts that are found in our closets or bought for work. The major style is, in fact, a blazer-shirt hybrid, but not, yes, thankfully—a Frankenstein amalgam. They were shirts only because they were tucked and had shirtsleeves—although extra long ones (complete with barrel cuffs and sleeve placket). For most, they had lapels—notched—rather than collars. And, we suspect, most guys would wear them, especially the denim version, as an outer if they were to score one. The shirts that were recognisably so were a lot fancier. One style had fringing hang from the shoulder, and cover most of the chest. Another was appliquéd with fabric flowers in 3-D pomp. And there were those destined to sell that were lengthen as dusters or car coats. Prada described the exercise in what was done as “reconsidered construction, re-constructed”. If there was a need to see how subversive co-designers Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons were, it could be found in the shirts.

What was surprising, if surprise is a benchmark of a worthy collection, was the appearance of the photographer’s vest or tactical vest (if you are the military type), or fishing waistcoats (if you spend a lot of time on the Jubilee Bridge with a rod and line). However, when the vests came with sleeves, Prada called them the “reporter jackets”. Anyway, you get the idea. It is not known if their inclusion said something about those individuals that filled the media pit or the uninvited paparazzi that were surrounding the fondazione to snap the arrival of attendees, but these utility garments—a chilli-red one, too—were in keeping with the mood participating brands of Milan Fashion Week were injecting, so far—veering towards all manner of work wear in an attempt to redefine what is manly while incorporating clearly feminine details in the ensembles. Even Prada could not resist putting their killer foot forward, shod in pink foam slip-on, no less. Cool to the last detail. Thankfully.

Screen shot (top): Prada/YouTube. Photos: Prada