prada invites koolhaas, grcic, the bouroullecs + herzog & de meuron to design menswear

for the first time, prada has invited four renowned creatives to each work on an item of clothing. for the FW 2018 menswear show, which was staged within an AMO-designed venue, the italian fashion house tasked ronan and erwan bouroullec, konstantin grcic, herzog & de meuron, and rem koolhaas with creating an item using black nylon fabric. the result is four radically different approaches that investigate the poetic, practical, technical, and aesthetic aspects of the material.

design by rem koolhaas
all runway images courtesy of PRADA

for his design for PRADA, rem koolhaas proposes a reinterpretation of the backpack, which he says is ‘more suitable to the contemporary urban citizen’. carried on the front, the rucksack’s contents are accessible to the wearer at any time, featuring an unusual criss cross strap on the back.

all other images © designboom

the bag is divided in compartments, dimensioned to accommodate the devices that ‘enable modern life to unfold’. ‘the frontal position gives a more intimate sense of ownership — a better control of movement, avoiding the chain of oblivious collisions that the backpack inadvertently generate,’ koolhaas explains.

image © designboom

herzog & de meuron draws from the theme of language in a trio of designs including a printed men’s t-shirt, shirt and jacket. ‘text is perceived as design, pattern, or decoration, comparable to the once potent symbols and signs, now tattooed onto human bodies without number,’ explain the architects.

design by jacques herzog and pierre de meuron

‘language, words, entire passages as ornamental tattoos? the language that we encounter here is like an archaeological find, as fascinating to us as ancient scrolls or coins because we sense that its time is running out,’ they continue. the design works on the idea of bringing words closer to the body whilst referencing the power of visual imagery with the inclusion of faint stencils of figures as if shot from a voyeuristic angle.

image © designboom

the bouroullec brothers have designed a shoulder bag that takes inspiration from the act of carrying art folders, their rigid form and its contrast with the human body. the folio – which is accented with pops of yellow and blue – includes inside sleeves and pockets for varying objects and comes in two different sizes and various colours.

design by ronan and erwan bouroullec

‘I’ve always liked the profiles of people — architects, painters and students — walking around with art folders,’ ronan bouroullec says of his design. ‘the movement of that rectangle, its clear-cut, fixed geometry contrasting with the moving bodies. this project takes that geometry and instills it in a shoulder bag, with its inside gusset, low fastening, elastic bands and eyelet, and use of a single color, which produces a subtle graphical playfulness.’

image © designboom

konstantin grcic’s design is informed by fishing vests — a traditionally expandable, versatile, and lightweight garment. ‘the key reference for my proposal is the fishing vest, representing the idea of a bag (which is what the nylon material has been primarily used for) as a garment,’ grcic describes. ‘my first thought was to recreate joseph beuys’ famous fishing vest in prada black nylon. later, I worked on two models, which interpret the theme in a more abstract way: apron and hood.’

design by konstantin grcic

the piece is one of three designed by grcic for the collection, including a detachable vest to go with the apron. how these unseen pieces will impact the evolution of the collection is sitll yet to be seen.

image © designboom