PRADA AW2017 Womenswear Advertising Campaign - Dialogue

PRADA AW2017 Womenswear Advertising Campaign - Dialogue

One woman, a multitude of identities - reinvented again and again through fashion. Willy Vanderperre captures the magnetic presence of Kris Grikaite in six different states, inspired by key Prada handbags for the AW2017 season. The inspiration is a conversation, a dialogue, between the different images – each showcasing both the woman and her bags, in luxuriant close-up. A portrait of both femininity, and of fashion, these photographs are striking in their intimacy; they are personal, honest. Just as ‘etiquette’ was established as a code of behaviour in the 17th century, so the Etiquette bag expresses every ‘code’ and ‘behaviour’ of Prada. The typological innovation, a fetishization of craftsmanship, an exploration of the nature of brand and product, and the idea of the inside-out, the anti-status. Turning fashion on its head. What is normally concealed, is revealed.

Pure and modernist, the Prada Monochrome handbag features a three-dimensional tone-on-tone logo in relief on Saffiano leather - as the light falls, the logo appears and disappears. In startling white with graphic hand-painted piping, the Monochrome is a sleek delineation of the Prada aesthetic. For a woman who is a fan of Prada in its purest form. A volte-face; the Prada Corsaire, evocative of travel and adventure, eclectic and multilayered. Inspired by saddle and game bags, the Corsaire has a dynamism, its surface animated by leather thonging and hardware rings. It is for a woman who explores, who dares and pushes boundaries.

The different identities assumed by Kris Grikaite are underscored by her accessories; each represent a different side of not only Prada, but the Prada woman. The new Prada Etiquette bag, the innovative style first offered in the AW2017 fashion show, takes centre stage. It is presented here in a duo of styles - timeless, iconic Prada fabric, and calf leather with metal studs, keyed to the of-the-moment aesthetic of the AW2017 womenswear show. In contrast to its name, the Etiquette toys with the rules of fashion, in true Prada style. It is a rebel, an iconoclast, a gamechanger. The Prada Etiquette bag places the pale-blue Prada ready-to-wear label - until now, a subtle luxury enjoyed by the wearer alone - on the outside. It is exposed, daringly.

This season brings a new iteration of the Prada Cahier bag, in fine velvet with trompe l’oeil renditions of its signature hardware detailing. Inspired by a metal-bound antique diary - in which the most personal and intimate thoughts are recorded – the colour variations afforded in the new velvet incarnation allows most to be unique. A handbag for an individual. Finally, the absolute classicism of the Prada Light Frame - a handbag as archetype, imbued with feminine elegance, timeless and eternal. A pop colour palette of Saffiano leather reinvents this ageless form with a fresh currency. It represents a dialogue between the past and the present.

The strength in using a single model to encapsulate these myriad identities proves the true transformative power of fashion. The ability of clothing to express deep desires and needs. These images, in turn, become a dialogue - a dialogue between the different facets of a woman, between her different identities and incarnations. A woman, and the women she wishes to be.