If you’re wondering how best to work this Autumn’s 1960’s trend, take a look at the Prada and Miu Miu catwalks for two different takes on it. It’s hard to believe Miucca Prada’s claim to have never seen the Mad Men series. She must have seen Tom Ford’s A Single Man. Either way, both catwalks have channeled the early 60’s and the contrasts between the two lines are plain to see.
As an offshoot of Prada, Miu Miu is a slightly less expensive and less sophisticated line, aimed at a younger customer. While Prada placed emphasis on a more grown-up, curvaceous silhouette, which was still popular in the early 60’s, Miu Miu’s show was about dressing the waifish, teenage figure that was popularised by Twiggy.
Prada’s show was a sexually tense celebration of womanly attributes that was echoed in the casting of Victoria’s Secret models such as Lara Stone and Doutzen Kroes. The eye was very much drawn to the bust, but through structure rather than low necklines. Miu Miu drew attention to the model’s legs in youthful and colourful shift dresses and pinafores.
If you’re buying according to your body shape you should easily find something to suit you in 1960’s inspired styles, as it was a time when the ideal body shape was in transition and there were essentially two very different silhouettes en vogue. Broadly speaking, Prada’s timeless shapes will look best on a more classically proportioned woman, while Miu Miu is better suited to a leaner figure. However, neither collection was completely exclusive; there was a degree of crossover between the two. Prada had dresses built up at the bust with ruffles for the less well endowed and Miu Miu had dresses that blossomed at the waist, creating hips.
The interesting thing about the Prada show was that there was such little flesh exposed, especially in the knits and yet it was much more sexually provocative than the Miu Miu show. The focus was on the breasts and yet there was no cleavage in sight, while at Miu Miu there were plenty of revealing U-neck pinafores. Basically, we would all do well to take a lesson from Prada in modest sex appeal and we should all have a go at 60’s styling this season.
By Katie Prior
