MFW SS13: WILL YOU WEAR PRADA'S NEW LEATHER SOCKS?

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large and Kasia Hastings

Leather socks at Prada (image from vogue.com)

Sorry, what we mean when we say "socks" is "flats that were essentially kid-leather ankle socks with a bifurcation to separate the big toe were slipped through a dainty harness of pastel satin". Thank you Vogue's Hamish Bowles for providing the correct definition of one of the big talking points of Miuccia Prada's SS13 collection, shown in Milan yesterday. As always with Prada, there's a lot to say about what we saw. Much of it revolves round the Japanese geisha influences and allusions to the hard/ soft elements of female character. If there were ever a collection to get intellectual about this would be it. But our minds are mostly on THOSE socks, which tie up in a neat little package exactly what Mrs Prada does best- shows us something utterly alien, seemingly unworkable  and makes us want it a little bit and then a little bit more until its filtered down to the high street and we're all completely mad for it.

The Prada socks look (image from vogue.com)

What's kind of fascinating about these socks though is that, in their current form, they are entirely unworkable. Could you dance in a club or run for a bus in them? Not so much, unless you're up for having shards of glass stuck in your feet. They remind of Courrèges space boots- clearly in space you don't really need to think about litter and the such.

Courreges space boots from the 60s (image from veralustina.blogspot.co.uk)

 They could also pass for a souped up version of the Vibram barefoot running boots our colleague Stu has recently been sporting, although those boast "quidfurcation", a made-up word for every toe having its own individual hole. There were far more viable seeming styles which involved the sock inserted onto a rocking-horse like jewelled platform and reinforced with extra ribbon-y straps. This is exactly the kind of thing we can imagine uber keen fashionistas wearing next season. In fact, Susie Bubble has just tweeted "My feet will buckle in these but I'll still do my damn hardest to get them come January... #prada" along with this picture:

Meanwhile, The Telegraph's fashion team confimed "#mfw #prada the leather socks you slip into hobbling-high platforms will be sold, said miuccia p: "but reduced". Whether the socks alone will be up for grabs is still anyone's guess. We're thinking a thin sole could perhaps be added, giving them a kind of minimal boxing boot look. And they'll undoubtedly spark a move on from the fash crowds' current love of a grey/ navy sock to metallic styles, possibly with an added ribbon. It's definitely a Marmite debate, but Elle's Stacey Duguid spoke for the "love it" team when she tweeted "Just popping back to the hotel to spray paint my socks silver". A quick fix way to get the Prada look now, will you or won't you? One thing we're betting any of you shaking your heads in disgust, you'll probably have come round to the idea by next Spring. That's the kind of magic spell Mrs Prada is so adept at casting.

MFW AW12: GET CAPE, WEAR CAPE

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

Given the amount of angst which capes cause when they're in the shops ("Where do you put your bag?", "The wind's blowing up it!") one sometimes wonders why designers persevere with them. But then you see them in their purest form, hung upon models with hands empty, perhaps save for a clutch bag and on a warm, wind free catwalk and we are once again seduced. This happened in Milan where capes popped up all week. There were long, swooshing cloaks and cute short capelets, plus everything inbetween.We love the grand, dark capes offered up by Dolce and Gabbana and Gucci, but Marni and Moschino showed a cape doesn't have to signify doom and gloom....

At Dolce and Gabbana, there were capes in all guises but they all contributed to the show's take on Catholic opulence- a cape hints at priests' cassocks and nuns' habits.

Dolce and Gabbana AW12

Dolce and Gabbana AW12

Gucci was goth with glamour. The capes were styled with jodhpur trousers, even if there were embellished with a ton of crystals,  and riding boots. These looks make me think of the  'Four Horsewomen of the Apocalypse'.

Gucci AW12

Gucci AW12

Marni and Moschino offered up brighter versions of the trend. Marni's red belted version is modern day Little Red Riding Hood while Moschino is blinged up 60s Park Avenue Princess- the mandarin collar is a sweet detail.

Marni AW12

Moschino AW12

Etro's capelet, with Tudor red ruffle neck, is more structured. If you're not sure about the swooshing required of a larger cape, this is a nice compromise. This is what, one hopes, Elizabeth I would wear if she were alive now.