Milan highlights – Prada autumn/winter 2009

Milan fashion week's golden ticket is always Prada and this season the show ticket arrived as a claret coloured, linen covered card - minimal and simple - and a sign of all the good things that were to come in Miuccia's latest show.

By ELLE UK and NonePublished: 02 March 2009

<p>Presented to a smaller more intimate crowd, a black carpeted, square shaped show space was surrounded by scaffolding and felt like an old fashioned couture salon showing in Paris. Perhaps a nod to austerity and also reassurance that as ever Mrs Prada w

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Presented to a smaller more intimate crowd, a black carpeted, square shaped show space was surrounded by scaffolding and felt like an old fashioned couture salon showing in Paris. Perhaps a nod to austerity and also reassurance that as ever Mrs Prada will be doing things her own way this season.

For a/w09 that means something simple and strong, and a slight forties feel to her colours and silhouette. Fuss free, brown boiled wool coats, dresses and skirt suits were all cinched in at the waist with thin leather belts - the volume gathered to swing out at the back- and featuring only the most necessary seams and fastenings. From the very first outfit it was clear - Prada is one designer determined not to send us back to the eighties. To Miuccia, power dressing means something entirely different. Her way to empower women came in the austere tweed and wool dresses with v-necks cut so low they hit the waist, or a deep red leather belted trench coat - slashed to the thigh. And heeled waders, worn with wool shorts that reached right up to the thigh with suspender clips attached - for the sporty yet subversive type perhaps?

There was also fierce velvet studded and fringed towering heels with a frill back, a burst of luxury and excitement for the feet and hard leather business like bags.

Towards the end beautiful embellishment crept in. Crystal and bead appliqued flower motifs on tweed pencil skirts or on belted grey wool jackets which dazzled. This built up to an explosion of crystal and bead applique all over coats and dresses as well as on slashed leather skirted dresses with dropped waists that had a strong gladiatorial and Grecian appeal.

Click here to see all the pics of the show...

Click here to see all the latest catwalk and front row pics...

By Melissa D

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