5 things to know about Prada's SS22 collection

Prada's SS22 men's collection was together very simple and very complex. Very simple because it was clearly inspired by an almost universal desire of summer, of enjoying the freedom of the beach and escaping the artificial and oppressive world of the city; very complex because, in this quest for freedom, Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons have questioned both the parameters of tailoring and those of traditional masculinity – pairing the naivety of childhood with utopian momentum and revealing an unprecedented vulnerability and fragility of male identity. 

To better understand the spirit of the collection, here are 5 things to know about Prada's SS22 collection.

#1 Return to childhood

The collection was dominated by elementary shapes, right-angle necklines and very short trousers reminiscent of an haute and gender-bending version of the summer colonies' clothes from decades ago. Men's bucket hats and rompers were a direct quote to that vintage, a childish and candid world that was used by Miuccia and Raf to explore the fragile and vulnerable side of men's fashion, a side that questions the very rules of the genre using skirts over short shorts and wide necklines that expose the human body – emphasizing a kind of allusive vulnerability.

#2 A summer escape

The claustrophobic set of the show, accompanied by the usual techno soundtrack, opens towards the beach of Capo Carbonara in Sardinia. The presence of the beach had three meanings: the first was the re-accession to nature and the outside world, also symbolized by the centimetres of skin left uncovered by the clothes; the second was the return to normality with the metaphorical artificiality of the set vanishing in front of the clarity of the sky and the sea; the third and final was further underlining of the return to childhood. In his show notes Raf Simons wrote: "The primary feeling is one of joy. It's almost like that memory of a child, the joy of a child going to the beach. The simplest and most honest of pleasures."

#3 Cabana Stripes

Prada is a brand deeply linked to the vintage and retro world: one of its characteristics is precisely transforming the past's silhouettes into almost futuristic creations. Among the many references to the brand's archive, the most important was that of the Cabana Stripes, that is, those motifs of coloured stripes associated with the world of the beach and swimming pools in the 1940s and 1950s. It was Queen Victoria who put the trend in the codes of bourgeois clothing when, towards the end of the 1800s, she made her children wear striped navy suits – eventually making the navy dress (characterized by very short trousers) one of the main uniforms of childhood in the bourgeois world of the time.

#4 The bucket hat's new formula

The bucket hat, reread in the childish mood that dominates the collection, becomes a utility garment, anchored under the chin by a strap but also equipped with a coin purse on the back and two holes in which to put sunglasses. Needless to say, the latter is a very eccentric styling gimmick and fully in the style of Prada – but it's more interesting to note that, for this collection, Raf and Miuccia have decided to profoundly change one of the most famous accessories of the brand, whose design until now had not received substantial changes. 

#4 Boxers are cool again

Of course, the collection wasn't dominated only by very short pants. But in the long trousers, there was a sign of deliberate neglect that represented yet another riff on the ugly chic concept of the collection: from the semi-open trousers, you could glimpse the visible boxers that, with colour and graphics, became an integral part of layering the looks.