You Won't Believe What Passed For A Set At Prada

Fashion Week notoriously brings out the most eccentric displays of artistry from the top couturiers, but Prada is in the running for Spring 2015's most idiosyncratic display. Sure, Karl Lagerfeld's Chanel Supermarket was incredibly lavish, and the flower wall at Dior was a classic moment of extravagance, but this year Prada incorporated sand dunes onto its runway. Sand dunes. You may think the legendary design house simply sprinkled a a few granules of the substance here and there to create the illusion of a dune, but in fact the runway space was teeming with towering mountains of the palest purple sand, reaching several feet in diameter and nearly above the heads of each model. And as is customary for Prada shows, the lighting was kept basic and unfussy, the better to highlight the clothes.

Why the sand, you ask? Most show attendees questioned the choice as well, especially considering Prada's proclivity for stark, elemental sets. The collection itself was an intriguing union of ragged, distressed hemlines, blatant topstitching, and mashups of texture from silk and leather to cotton and lace. After commencing the show with a parade of neutrals (think navy, chocolate brown, and black), Prada included pops of emerald, amethyst, and yellow to elevate the collection. It appears the sand was made to correspond with Prada's somewhat austere Spring 2015 collection.

While the concept of adding sand dunes emphasize the themes of a runway show is novel, I simply can't get past the potential for disastrous results. I'll be saying a silent thank-you to the fashion gods that one of those precarious dunes didn't collapse, and a stray gust of wind didn't lift any errant granules into an unprepared audience.

Cover Image: prada/Instagram