There seems to be no letting up in the fashion world’s fascination of/and obsession with Miuccia Prada, who has been the subject of countless articles as of late. In fact, she was the subject of the front- page article, “The Age of Prada”, written by Guy Trebay for his ‘Fashion Diary’ column in yesterday’s ‘Style’ section of The New York Times. And even though I too, have addressed this subject ad nauseum- for seasons now- I have some additional thoughts and observations I would like to share.
What really hits me almost more than anything, is how much Miuccia has been responsible for helping us challenge our perception of what is beautiful, sexy, attractive, and desirable. Hardly a conventional beauty in any sense of the word (and one who eschews false and artificial aids like make up and plastic surgery in favor of a natural look) she is the embodiment of her own individual, eccentric aesthetic. Of course, this is a woman who has also forced us to re-evaluate and redefine what is hip and cool, and re- think luxury (having elevated pedestrian nylon to luxury cult status). She has also helped put an entire generation of young women, (who would have never thought they would do so)- in downright dowdy styles that resemble their mother’s- not to mention gloves and brooches, made it ‘okay’ to buy secondhand thrift shop and vintage clothes, and made geek ‘chic’.
So weighty is her influence and so unwavering is the loyalty of her fans, I shun thinking what would happen if she proposed or suggested we all jump off the Brooklyn Bridge.
-Marilyn Kirschner
