As soon as the Prada show ended my phone blew up with messages and texts. “That Prada show was insane. Definitely up there with some of the best. *Powerful* clothes!” was typical of the immediate reaction to a collection that thrilled with fashion catnip.

There was much to discuss: From the fluttering ribbon-bow dresses to cotton bloomers peeking out from below slip skirts, or the back-to-front peek a boo looks, that mashed masculine and feminine, formal and undone, day and evening in one outfit. The front view forties-style tailoring offered a very different perspective to the back (a bustled slip).

Nostalgic pieces from different eras combined: forties suiting and lingerie, sixties shifts, fifties full skirts, oversized letterman jackets emblazoned with 1913, the year the brand was founded.

Backstage Mrs Prada and Raf Simons spoke of romance and emotion, as well as what we can learn from history especially in difficult moments. “This is a collection shaped by history. It’s not about nostalgia, it’s about understanding” said the designers in a statement.

It was clear this was a Prada show for the ages, designed to send the Pradaphiles into high earth orbit. They’re probably still up there now, contemplating the merits of dangling your handbag bag from an elbow strap (the new flex), mis-matching your twinset or whether you could get away with wearing a Prada feather military cap to your best friend’s wedding (deffo).

The show space was remarkable – the glass catwalk was suspended above an entire natural landscape complete with bubbling brooks and mossy banks, was created by AMO to speak to our desire to commune with nature whilst being disconnected from it. There was no disconnect with the clothes though.

prada.com