Stratification Of The Prada SS17 Show
Founded in 1913 in the Italian city of Milan, Prada are far from unfamiliar to rich architecture and the stratification of history throughout societies and fashion. The famous men's and women's clothing, leather goods, footwear, eyewear and fragrance designer have seen its SS17 fashion show finally completed and the project is quite the 'Stratification of Architecture'. Defined as 'a formation of layers', stratification is the new word to be popularised in the fashion world, and Prada's new exhibition show is really quite apt.
A rainbow array of neon colours, industrial materials and architectural features, the exhibition show has been designed by AMO, OMA's research and design studio, and features remains of previous shows on display as a visible background for the latest Prada scenography, all in the name of stratification. Focusing on lifestyle aspects beyond architecture that have an increasing influence on buildings and space design - such as media, politics, renewable energy, technology, publishing and fashion - AMO's linear catwalk display space is a well devised industrial room that encapsulates a really great atmospheric feel. With the catwalk ramp located in the middle of the room, tribunes are arranged along its perimeter to accommodate the eagerly onlooking guests, whilst a generally metallic mesh materiality gives an omnipresent sense of industrial presence. With abstract motifs overlapping each other to recreate what AMO call a 'total space', the hall is very much an architectural gesture as much as a display for Prada's latest SS17 lines.
As AMO describe, "...the transparency of the cladding material unveils the underlying framework with cartesian precision...the psychedelic glow that spreads throughout the space dematerializes all the surfaces, colouring the room..." Such a joyous and psychedelic mood of the colourful exhibition will no doubt be reflected via the fashion to be on display by Prada, where the literal levitation of models as they transcend around the catwalk and up the ramp will match the metaphorical levitation of the brand's supreme quality and market-leading nature. The catwalk moves through the space towards a vanishing point, all in grand gesture. Discover more about the designers and the show at OMA.eu.
Photography credit : OMA.eu