Muse Boards
Prada S/S 2011
Once again Miuccia Prada has defied expectations and challenged norms. In a season of all-white openers, Prada’s Spring/Summer 2011 collection featured neon colors, vibrant prints, and fiery silhouettes.
Posted June 9th, 2019
By
Colby Mugrabi
Perhaps the most obvious influences on this collection are the 1920s and Latin America. The models’ finger wave hair, drop-waist skirts, and fur stoles all signify Josephine Baker, not to mention the banana print throughout the collection which references Baker’s famous banana ensemble from 1926. On the other hand, the vibrant tropical colors, oversized brimmed hats, and ruffled hems all look to Latin America for inspiration. The use of stripes, cheeky baroque prints with the collection’s signature bananas, and the replacement of cherubs with monkeys all make use of playfulness and reject the serious.
Still, elements of Prada’s designs remain hard to define. The opening looks featured the collection’s neon colors, but their unusual stiff sleeves and rounded shoulders seem to make a different point than the more fun-loving looks of the collection. Meanwhile, other ensembles reference the nurses scrubs of Prada’s previous menswear collection. Finishing out the show were a series of black and grey ensembles, including skirt suits. The element of playfulness carries through here in horizontal stripes, adding fun into even the most serious looks of the collection. It is difficult to determine exactly what Miuccia meant with this collection, but as with all things, the devil is in the details.
References
Andy Warhol
Polaroid of Bananas
Ettore Sottsass
Superbox, 1969
Isamu Noguchi
Bamboo Basket Chair, 1950
Marc Newson
Lockheed Lounge, 1988
Harper's Bazaar
1966
Seventeen Magazine
September 1967
Josephine Baker
In her Banana Costume
Andy Warhol
Banana Dress, 1966
Andy Warhol
'Monkey ( Toy Painting )', 1983
Patrick Kelly
Banana Girl Sketch, 1987
Carmen Miranda
Portrait
Cecil Beaton
Wallis Simpson Schiaparelli, 1937
Georges Jouve
Vase Femme a Nichons, 1948
Georges Jouve
Vase Femme a Nichons, 1948
Jacques-Henri Lartigue
Renée Perle, 1930-1932
Jeff Koons
Wishing Well Mirror, 1988
Wide White Space Gallery
Exhibition Poster, Antwerp, Belgium, 1971
Pierre Cardin
Eyewear, 1960s
Steven Holl
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Hiroshi Sugimoto
Teatro Carignano, Turin, 2016
Yves Klein
(Untitled) Blue Monochrome
References
Andy Warhol
Polaroid of Bananas
1 of 22
Ettore Sottsass
Superbox, 1969
2 of 22
Isamu Noguchi
Bamboo Basket Chair, 1950
3 of 22
Marc Newson
Lockheed Lounge, 1988
4 of 22
Harper's Bazaar
1966
5 of 22
Seventeen Magazine
September 1967
6 of 22
Josephine Baker
In her Banana Costume
7 of 22
Andy Warhol
Banana Dress, 1966
8 of 22
Andy Warhol
'Monkey ( Toy Painting )', 1983
9 of 22
Patrick Kelly
Banana Girl Sketch, 1987
10 of 22
Carmen Miranda
Portrait
11 of 22
Cecil Beaton
Wallis Simpson Schiaparelli, 1937
12 of 22
Georges Jouve
Vase Femme a Nichons, 1948
13 of 22
Georges Jouve
Vase Femme a Nichons, 1948
14 of 22
Jacques-Henri Lartigue
Renée Perle, 1930-1932
15 of 22
Jeff Koons
Wishing Well Mirror, 1988
16 of 22
Wide White Space Gallery
Exhibition Poster, Antwerp, Belgium, 1971
17 of 22
Pierre Cardin
Eyewear, 1960s
18 of 22
Steven Holl
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
20 of 22
Hiroshi Sugimoto
Teatro Carignano, Turin, 2016
21 of 22
Yves Klein
(Untitled) Blue Monochrome
22 of 22