Prada shows Milan collection in five videos

Prada headlined Day 1 of Milan’s first Digital Fashion Week on Tuesday with a series of out-sourced videos and the apt subtitle ’’the show that never happened.”

Luxury fashion is adapting to the coronavirus pandemic by moving runway shows onto digital platforms. It was that, or cancel the season, a tough choice for an industry that in Italy alone is expected to suffer a 20%-30 percent drop in revenues this year, from 67 billion euros  last year. So the job now is to stanch losses and maintain ties with consumers, and a spotlight on digital displays given the necessity to maintain social distance.

Prada told its story through five video chapters by international artists, featuring glimpses of the collection against the backdrop of the Fondazione Prada’s exhibition space in Milan.

“We are used to doing fashion shows,” Miuccia Prada said in notes emailed to journalists. ‘’But the moment you can’t do a physical show, you have to invent another work.’’

Through the filmmakers’ eyes, the focus shifts from silhouette to detail, often with deliberately blurred transitions. A floral coat contrasted against a lineup of Prada black and white vinyl creations with boxy long coats over slim trousers or leggings. The emphasis was more on film style— befitting the Fondazione Prada’s support of contemporary art -- than the looks themselves.

As stylist Ovidiu Buta put it on Instagram: ’’Great video. But where are the clothes. Where is Prada?” The answer, for anyone looking, is on the fashion chamber’s website, where all the 30 looks were posted one by one. But still, the buzz and energy created by a live show — restricted as they are to invited guests only — was notably absent on social media.-AP