365 SS 2018 Woman
Real Life Comix
Women, by women. The new chapter of 365 to unveil the Prada Womenswear Spring/Summer 2018 collection presents a new vision of femininity, and feminism, framed by the work of female graphic artists. The work of Brigid Elva, Joëlle Jones, Stellar Leuna, Giuliana Maldini, Natsume Ono, Emma Ríos, Trina Robbins, Fiona Staples and archive of Tarpé Mills, creator of the first female action hero, appear on clothing designs and as striking backdrops. In turn, they are framed again - by the eye and hand of another woman, Miuccia Prada.
Their function is dual: underscoring the designs of the clothes, and the seasonal identity and attitude of the Prada Womenswear Spring/Summer 2018 collection, these graphic devices also lend each image an allegorical bent. Like the women they depict, these images are not passive but forceful, powerful; their impact is felt and their voices heard. Interrupting the models passage in the foreground, these two-dimensional graphics - faces, places, action frozen in time - become part of a three-dimensional reality, emblemizing the conversation between real and make-believe at the heart of modern times.
Photographed by Willy Vanderperre in Los Angeles, whose landscape appears again and again as backdrop to comic book narratives - like a graphic novel come to life - these images present their own self-contained storylines, of interactions, intersections, interrelations. Each one is a horizon to be explored. Inside, Prada’s diverse cast of models are transformed into avatars of dynamism, authors of their own destiny, heroines of their own stories, for us to discover.
Willy Vanderperre
Models
Lexi Boling, Xie Chaoyu, Gisèle Fox, Kris Grikaite, Pasha Harulia, Imari Karanja, Line Kjaergaard, Loane Normand, Fran Summers, Alyssa Traoré, Silke Van Daal, Anok Yai
Black Nylon
The foundation of Prada - its emblematic heritage, its soul. Black nylon (or tessuto vela), an industrial material elevated to luxury, inspires both the spring/summer 2018 collection and its reflection in the next step of the Prada 365 campaign.
Timeless, practical yet precious, an avant-garde expression of elegance for today, nylon is a founding principle of Prada. Drawn from the universe of workwear, the military and industry, the fabric transgresses traditional signifiers of opulence, expressing a fresh breed of transgressive and subversive sophistication. In the context of luxury, nylon is provocative, modern, open to endless reinterpretation. A new classic, and fundamentally Prada.
A dichotomy, an inherent paradox, Prada’s use of nylon influences the aesthetic of imagery by Willy Vanderperre to explore the physicality and philosophy of this noble fabric through both accessories and clothes. The strength of the fabric is here mirrored by the strength of the women - a fearless and unexpected casting of new and familiar faces. Photographed in Los Angeles, our environments oscillate between idyllic sunsets and concrete modernism. The shifting scenery reflects the different lives assumed by this enduring and eternal Prada hallmark.
Willy Vanderperre
Models
Gisèle Fox, Kris Grikaite, Imari Karanja, Line Kjaergaard, Fran Summers, Anok Yai, Alyssa Traore
Location
Los Angeles