Prada's Monkey Business

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Monkey Business

Oh. My. God. I’m surrounded by Carmen Miranda, radioactive neon monkeys, giraffes, and bananas, all dressed in hospital scrubs and L.A. County prison uniforms. Is this a nightmare that woke me up in the middle of the night? No. It’s the Prada collection for Spring 2011.

There are those who will think Prada’s latest offering is absolute genius. I’m not one of them. This latest collection is even more disastrous than Prada’s African tribal inspired Spring/Summer collection of 2003, the one I couldn’t give away. First, the collection incorporates an overabundance of horizontal stripes, sure to make the typical Prada lover look three sizes wider. The size zero models (who looked like they had their hair done by the same people who styled new-wave band Devo) that had the misfortune to wear these striped monstrosities look like they were size sixes. Then there are the ruffled neckline pieces that look like they should be worn by Enrico Caruso while performing Pagliacci. If you don’t believe me, just click here to see for yourself. Even worse are the incongruous color schemes/print patterns. There’s a shocking orange dress that looks like a cross between hospital scrubs and a prison uniform. The shape is terribly uncomplimentary, which is a consistent theme throughout the collection. However, the worst pieces are those that incorporate prints of monkeys and bananas. I would highly caution anyone against wearing any of these pieces to the zoo for fear that a monkey might mistaken you for a relative, or an ape might think you are a banana and try to eat you. One of the blouses in particular — a blue and white striped number — brought me back to my youth. I would swear that my father owned the same shirt in 1968 and wore it every Sunday to the beach club. I have a number of clients who were named to the Vanity Fair Best Dressed List this year and I couldn’t imagine them wearing clothes as fleeting as these. And I wouldn’t allow them to. Imagine if 10 people showed up to a party wearing this line: it would be embarassing. Most pieces are so loud that a woman would have no way to accessorize in order to add a personal touch and distinguish herself.

The saving grace for this Prada offering is a black, 2-button jacket/skirt that fits perfectly. Also worth mentioning is a blue, white, and black spaghetti-strap dress, as well as a sexy, plunge-neckline freeform dress. The shoes are fantastic, featuring colors and shapes that work very nicely.

Overall, I would say that – as a huge fan of Prada – I was deeply disappointed by the Spring 2011 collection. The Madison Avenue Salesgirl appreciates the necessity for being fun, bold, and daring, but sometimes designers take this liberty way too far. This is one of those times. It’s hugely important to be visionary, but not cartoon-ish. And the Prada Spring collection for 2011 is one for the funny papers. With Prada thinking about going public with an IPO next year, I would seriously consider buying stock in the company because with a collection like this, the price is sure to be low.

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