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Prada and OMA create an Infinite Palace

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AMO, the research branch of the Dutch design studio OMA, recently created a unique runway for the Prada Autumn/Winter menswear show that used clever design trickery to make it appear as though the catwalk stretched on into infinity. At the presentation, which took place over the weekend as part of Milan's men's fashion week (“Moda Uomo”) at the Fondazione Prada, AMO divided the presentation space into a series of interconnected rooms, each with different proportions.

AMO, the research branch of the Dutch design studio OMA, recently created a series of runways for the Prada Autumn/Winter menswear show

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Each room was linked by an aluminium tunnel, which was back-lit brightly from behind with vertical tube lights to create a harsh contrast with the rooms, which were much larger and were left mostly dark. As the runway progressed, the tunnels became smaller and tighter. The rooms, which were lined with faux-marble to create a stark, modern atmosphere, also featured metal sheets laid out into geometric shapes on the floor to add to the disorientating vibe and create a sense of continual movement.

OMA has worked with Prada for 25 years now

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Lead project architect Rem Koolhaas, who has also designed sets for Prada in previous seasons, said “The existing room is disguised into a classic enfilade of rooms, gradually changing proportions as in an abstract mannerist perspective.” He said of the layout, which has been dubbed “The Infinite Palace,” that “As opposed to a single stage, the new sequence of spaces multiplies and fragments the show into a series of intimate moments,” by forming a route that the models follow along one side before returning down the other. Supposedly, “The progression through the connected rooms simulates endless repetitions and symmetries, while providing the illusion of an infinite palace,” and “As the models move linearly across the enfilade the audience, divided into small groups, are pushed to close and intimate proximity with the collection.”

The show had both male and female models wearing the menswear collection, which largely consisted of minimal, black garments

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OMA said of the set; “Blue and black (false) marble covers the floors and walls, transforming each space into a tridimensional excavation.” The audience, meanwhile, sat on benches around the corners of the larger, dark rooms, and the collection itself aimed to highlight and celebrate the differences and similarities between genders. As such, the show had both male and female models wearing the menswear collection, which largely consisted of minimal, black garments. Prada said of the collection, which forms the first part of the fall/winter display; “The influences of one (gender) upon the other are non-linear, asymmetrical, unobvious but always profound,” and that “Gender is a context and context is often gendered.”

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OMA has worked with Prada for 25 years now, but despite their ongoing collaborations with Koolhaas and his studio, Martino Gamper was recently hired to design its latest shop windows.

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