At the Fondazione Prada in Milan last fall, purple primordial ooze dripped from the ceiling as models strutted down the runway in swim caps and shredded dresses. Nylon capes topped structured blazers cinched with thick leather belts. Prada’s Spring/Summer 2024 Womenswear show was a study in contradiction. And no two garments better captured Creative Directors Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons’s reverence for juxtaposition than the eyelet skirt and fringe dress.
With a keen focus on distinctive design and minute handiwork, Prada brings haute couture savoir-faire to ready-to-wear. Each eyelet skirt can take up to five days to make: Thousands of loose threads are hand-embroidered at the waist to create the fringe. The titular eyelets—metal grommets of varying sizes—punctuate the waterfall of fringe like punk polka dots, their weight contrasting with its buoyancy.
The fringe dress, meanwhile, is a testament to the freaky and filigree. Seemingly demure, with its high neckline and conservative length, the garment comes alive with movement, as the body’s dips and swells materialize slowly from beneath a delicate sheath of fringe. Rhinestone flowers burst across the shoulders, chest, and thighs, winking as the wearer strolls by. Throughout, the dress’s swing remains uncompromised.
The combination of embroidery and fringe is technically taxing to achieve. To construct the dress, artisans must attach 160 bezel rhinestones to chains stitch by stitch, affixing them to the fringe with gauze that is later carefully pulled out thread by thread.
After that, the garment has to remain perfectly still for 24 hours. The achievement of motion through stillness is a walking enigma, yet the Prada woman knows that true luxury is found at the edge of whimsy and reality—just where Mrs. Prada and Simons like to play.
