Prada Plays With Contrasts at Milan Fashion Week Show

Models present creations from the Prada Spring/Summer 2023 collection during Milan Fashion Week in Milan, Italy, September 22, 2022. REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo
Models present creations from the Prada Spring/Summer 2023 collection during Milan Fashion Week in Milan, Italy, September 22, 2022. REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo
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Prada Plays With Contrasts at Milan Fashion Week Show

Models present creations from the Prada Spring/Summer 2023 collection during Milan Fashion Week in Milan, Italy, September 22, 2022. REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo
Models present creations from the Prada Spring/Summer 2023 collection during Milan Fashion Week in Milan, Italy, September 22, 2022. REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo

Simplicity and contrasts were the main themes at the Prada catwalk show in Milan on Thursday, with the Italian luxury label stripping off "unnecessary complication" in its latest womenswear collection.

Designers Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons opened the Spring/Summer 2023 show with sharp grey looks including pointy-collared shirts, slim-fit trousers and a jumpsuit.

Reinforcing the idea of simplicity were sleeveless dresses made with a paper base fabric. The frocks bore slits at the front, creases and folds.

"The clothes are about simplicity, with no unnecessary complication," Miuccia Prada said in a statement, Reuters reported.

"There is no complicated structure, nothing unnecessary. No nonsense - the rawness, the crudeness represents absolute simplicity. We wanted to do something with the most simple, modest material - with paper. Then we used this system of reduction and simplicity as a means of making beauty."

Outerwear consisted of light opera coats and black leather jackets. Some coats had large bows at the back.

Last season's sheer looks continued at Thursday's show, with models wearing transparent tops and skirts.

The designers, who worked with film director Nicolas Winding Refn for the show, stuck to a minimalist color palette of grey, white, black with bursts of bright lime, orange and red occasionally appearing on tops, handbags or shoes.

Milan Fashion Week runs until Sept. 26 with the likes of heavyweights Gucci, Versace, Dolce & Gabbana and Giorgio Armani among those presenting their latest creations.



France's Christian Lacroix Label Heads for Spanish Ownership

Christian Lacroix was created in 1987 by the eponymous designer, with the support of luxury giant LVMH, which sold it in 2005 to Falic Group. (AFP)
Christian Lacroix was created in 1987 by the eponymous designer, with the support of luxury giant LVMH, which sold it in 2005 to Falic Group. (AFP)
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France's Christian Lacroix Label Heads for Spanish Ownership

Christian Lacroix was created in 1987 by the eponymous designer, with the support of luxury giant LVMH, which sold it in 2005 to Falic Group. (AFP)
Christian Lacroix was created in 1987 by the eponymous designer, with the support of luxury giant LVMH, which sold it in 2005 to Falic Group. (AFP)

The Spanish fashion group Sociedad Textil Lonia (STL) announced Tuesday it had reached an agreement to buy France's Christian Lacroix label, hoping to return the once-mighty brand to its former glory.

The deal to acquire Lacroix from US-based Falic group, which specializes in duty-free retail, was for an undisclosed amount in a "private transaction", STL said.

"By acquiring Maison Lacroix, with its treasure of archives and rich history of French haute couture, STL expands its brand portfolio, strengthening its international presence in the world of high fashion," STL stated in a press release.

"We will do everything we can to ensure that the unique talent of its creator and his invaluable contribution to the world of fashion reach their full potential," the group added.

Christian Lacroix was created in 1987 by the eponymous designer, with the support of luxury giant LVMH, which sold it in 2005 to Falic Group.

In 2009, following financial difficulties, the brand implemented a court-ordered recovery plan that resulted in around 100 job cuts and the discontinuation of haute couture operations.

Lacroix, now aged 73, left the group in 2010.

Having spent decades dressing celebrities, he turned to working for ballet and opera productions, as well as collaborating with other labels such as Dries Van Noten.

"The Spanish family that owns STL had the elegance to contact me ahead of the official announcement about the acquisition of the Christian Lacroix name and archives," he told Vogue Business on Tuesday. "We will probably meet soon in an informal way."

Founded in Spain in 1997, STL is a fashion company behind Spanish ready-to-wear brand Purificacion Garcia and the label of Venezuelan-American designer Carolina Herrera, employing 2,500 people and operating 600 stores worldwide, according to its website.