Prada’s Fall Winter 2022 Menswear collection ports viewers into a futuristic tunnel

Prada recently unveiled its Fall Winter 2022-2023 Men’s Collection that set the stage for action, a representation of a heightened actuality. Envisioning men’s workwear while deriving elements from the future, Italian fashion designer Miuccia Prada and Rem Koolhaas collaborate on bridging the gap between technology and fashion by bringing their ideas and science fiction themes to life. The show took place in the heart of the city of Milan, at the Fondazione Prada, where guests were made to enter through a tunnel with exposed grey and concrete walls as it opens up into the mustard carpeted room that transports the audience to a dystopian futuristic set straight out of a Sci-Fi movie.

The audience is seated around the zig zag runway that has been created by the negative space of the olive coloured cinema chairs and well placed spotlights. With a soft light cast across the Deposito, the attention of the audience falls on the bright neon tunnel at the mouth of the runway. Dutch architect, architectural theorist and urbanist, Rem Koolhaas and his team at AMO/OMA came together to design and deliver the hauntingly beautiful set. Koolhaas has collaborated with Prada for nearly 2 decades, helping the Italian fashion house bring ideas to life.

The Prada Fall Winter 2022 Men’s Collection aims to redefine men’s workwear by creating strong silhouettes with a casual approach. The collection according to Miuccia Prada aims to celebrate the idea of working by creating something that breaks the conventional notion of what office wear should be and as traditional workspaces have evolved the future of work wear becomes more enthralling.

AMO, the research wing of the Dutch architecture studio OMA metamorphosed the Fondazione Prada's Deposito into a living theatrical space, with the plush yellow carpet that lends a rich, cinematic experience to its visitors. The runway is given a halo spotlight in zig zag patterns that adds to the immersive experience for the audience seated in olive cinema chairs. AMO Project Architect Giulio Margheri has transcended the typical theatrical experience by blurring the lines between audiences and the stage, using open space of the floor to be used as the stage while the audience observes closely from the shadows.

Delving into the world of science fiction the neon caged tunnel exemplifies a spacecraft, with its metal grates that resembles the floors of spacecrafts in the Star Wars franchise and bright neon pink, blue, purple and white, taking inspiration from the tunnel in Kubrick’s iconic 2001 Space Odyssey. As the spirit of science fiction and adventure veils the air the tunnel brings the whole experience together acting as the portal into the future and gives some insight into what the fashion experience can become for audiences. By breaking down the walls that separate the audience from the stage we may just be getting a look into the upcoming future of the relationship between technology, fashion and immersive audience experiences.