Man Whispers: Prada Mens Fall 2011 Runway, Milan Menswear Fashion Week

Man Whispers: Prada Mens Fall 2011 Runway, Milan Menswear Fashion Week

Whispered by The Clothes Whisperer

"Are you lost, little boy?" (cued by the little britches) or "No, thank you, the vacuum cleaner we have now is perfectly alright"(cued by the retro suitcases) are the two phrases that first popped into my head when flipping through images from last night's Prada menswear show. A sort of retro almost converging on mod moment, the Prada boy for Autumn Winter 2011 is some sort of hybrid of a minimalist aesthetic with a traveling salesman undercurrent.



The return of the britches was marked with cool two-tone socks and paired with boxy overcoats to counterbalance the sense of boyish youth conveyed by the cropped pant. Outerwear seemed exceptionally boxy at Prada this year, unlike the fitted cuts we've been seeing elsewhere this week. Together, the oversized coats and teeny tiny cuffed britches make this season's Prada man feel more like a boy, one who hasn't quite yet grown into his Father's superbly tailored wardrobe.



Then, as if to gesture towards that journey from the hoods boy to man, an army of traveling velor tracksuit clad salesmen took to the runway. When I say track suit, I don't mean Juicy Couture, but it's seventies gym teacher predecessor glammed up for the runways of today. Prada's tracksuits, complete with retro v-stripe at the neckline, made use of key 70's muted tones like teals, mustards and maroons maroons.



Then came the 70's suede in, you guessed it, hues of orange and red (a diamond patterned jacket of the stuff was a wee too much for me). Fear and Loathing really should have been left in Las Vegas and not dragged onto the catwalks of Milan. But whatever, like a bad rash, the moment, I'm sure, will pass swiftly. And while the veteran vintage shopper in me shrinks at the sight of this kind of suede, expecting it to be stiff, scratchy and perhaps just a little bit smelly, the fashionista in me can bet that Prada's suede, orange and yucky appearing though it may be from a distance, is most likely delicious to the touch and butter soft up close.