2016 FW Prada Men's and Women's Show by OMA-AMO
20/01/2016.
Prada [MIL] Italy
metalocus, JOSÉ JUAN BARBA
metalocus, JOSÉ JUAN BARBA
The assemblage of recorded impressions and digital reactions inserts itself into the once autonomous narrative of the fashion show. The statement of the collective spreads. The mass of fragmented instant data is uploaded and critiqued by a multitude of voices. This consumption of images is like a public trial, a contemporary transposition of the Auto-da-fé (1).
OMA vs AMO's Latest Prada runway is inspired by 17th century Auto-Da-Fé trials.
For the 2016 Fall Winter Prada show, AMO takes inspiration from the traditional public stages and places of civic ceremonies (2). Placed around the periphery of the room, a system of balconies and tribunes defines the central space. Similar, yet different they create an imbalanced symmetry (3). A raised viewing platform is inserted into the middle of the room, dominating the catwalk.
A journey of sights and sounds amidst the inspirations of the Prada F/W 2016 Men's and Women's show.
This assemblage of structures breaks through the building, expanding into the surrounding streets and urban domain. A new entrance, marked by a ceremonial gateway, creates an oneiric (4) passage from street to show. Guests gather on the balconies, tribunes and central platform in crowds according to a series of spatial hierarchies. No longer bystanders, they become active participants in the ritual unfolding around them.
The OSB wood cladding counters the simplicity of the structures. An irregular pattern of red and dark patches covers the surface, while dramatic lighting enhances its uneven texture. The dark and enigmatic chiaroscuro atmosphere is enhanced by a theatrical use of lights.
NOTES.-
1) The Auto-da-fé is a:
a) public penance of condemned heretics
b) title of the English edition of the novel by Elias Canetti, Nobel for Literature in 1981 and author of Crowds and Power (1960).
2) Indirect reference to the Auto-da-fé ceremony.
3) Reference to the work of Maurits Cornelis Escher.
4) Reference to Calderon de la Barca – La Vida es un Sueño (Life is a Dream, 1635) describing the relationship between dreams and reality.
Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) is a leading international partnership practising architecture, urbanism, and cultural analysis. OMA's buildings and masterplans around the world insist on intelligent forms while inventing new possibilities for content and everyday use. OMA is led by eight partners – Rem Koolhaas, Reinier de Graaf, Ellen van Loon, Shohei Shigematsu, Iyad Alsaka, Chris van Duijn, Jason Long, and Managing Partner-Architect David Gianotten – and maintains offices in Rotterdam, New York, Hong Kong, Doha, and Australia.
OMA-designed buildings currently under construction are the renovation of Kaufhaus des Westens (KaDeWe) in Berlin, The Factory in Manchester, Hangzhou Prism, the CMG Times Center in Shenzhen and the Simone Veil Bridge in Bordeaux.
OMA’s completed projects include Taipei Performing Arts Centre (2022), Norra Tornen in Stockholm (2020), Axel Springer Campus in Berlin (2020), MEETT Toulouse Exhibition and Convention Centre (2020), Galleria in Gwanggyo (2020), nhow RAI Hotel in Amsterdam (2020), a new building for Brighton College (2020), and Potato Head Studios in Bali (2020). Earlier buildings include Fondazione Prada in Milan (2018), Garage Museum of Contemporary Art in Moscow (2015), Fondazione Prada in Milan (2015); G-Star Headquarters in Amsterdam (2014); Shenzhen Stock Exchange (2013); De Rotterdam (2013), CCTV Headquarters in Beijing (2012), New Court, the headquarters for Rothschild Bank in London (2011); Milstein Hall at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York (2011); and Maggie's Centre, a cancer care centre in Glasgow (2011). Earlier buildings include Casa da Música in Porto (2005), Seattle Central Library (2004), and Netherlands Embassy in Berlin (2003).