Miuccia Prada has taken a trip back in time to 1950s Hawaii for her men’s spring/summer 2014 show in Milan this year. “Menacing Paradise” was the term used by Prada to describe the stage set, and as the models traversed the runway against a tropical backdrop, the foreboding sounds of helicopters roared through the venue. Prada is no stranger to putting on a cinematic show, and this time the feel was very Apocalypse Now.
A departure from last season’s luxurious purity, the brand has brought back prints on wool sweaters, silk shirts and retro travel cases that evoke exotic clichés of a bygone era – think From Here to Eternity and the darkened paradise of Pearl Harbor, or a Rat Pack-era Palm Springs.
The color palette, predominantly made up of navy, brown and burgundy, is considered and affecting, with mango yellows and sharp teals injecting an additional zing. Silky blouson jackets adorned with graphic pin-up girls are another highlight, not to mention the fluidity of the silk shorts.
The tropical prints are repeatedly paired with pinstripe suits and double breasted jackets left open, giving way to a heady romanticism – all the more so due to additional female models clad in Miu Miu esque silk dresses and excerpts from the Risky Business and Body Heat soundtracks playing throughout.
For spring 2014 the Prada man has added a Honolulu Aloha to the season, moving between themes of vintage travel, war, romance and the oppressive heat of the tropics. What’s best about this latest offering is that the clothes can be viewed as individual pieces, rather than whole looks, allowing you to mix and match to create your own tropical take on Prada’s sinister summer.
