OMA: fall/winter 2011 prada catwalk, milan

the prada catwalk for the fall/winter 2011 collection by OMA at the prada fondazione, milan image courtesy prada

following a number of successful creative collaborations in the past, internationally renowned architect rem koolhaas of OMA and prada have teamed up to create a two-storey catwalk for the italian fashion label’s fall/winter 2011 collection. standing in the main exhibition space of the prada fondazione in milan, the largely open steel structure serves as a house within a house complete with 5 meter-wide rooms for the audience.

looking down the linoleum catwalk image courtesy prada

circumscribed with a milanese-style balustrade railing on both the first and second storey, the ‘fashion house’ features a series of generous staircases to enable the models to circulate both levels. starting from a separate catwalk adjacent to the project, the multi-level route first begins at the top then circles down to the ground floor. layers of structural partitions separate the audience into groups of fifty on either side of the catwalk. finished in a bright sea foam blue, elements of the original room–expansive concrete arches are translated and extended through the structure’s ceiling.

image courtesy prada

views of the staircase images courtesy prada

the structure in use during the show image courtesy prada

door-sized punch-outs in the structure allowed cameras to film the show images © designboom

looks from the collection images courtesy prada

to watch a video of the show and the catwalk in use, visit prada’s homepage and click through to ‘fashion shows FW11’ under ‘collection’.

video still of the show

view from the ‘rooms’