In Milan (and Shanghai, simultaneously), showgoers sat captivated by the Prada runway show at this past spring '22 fashion week. As designers Raf Simons and Miuccia Prada reimagined what the sartorial depiction of "sexy" looks like in a collection dubbed Seduction, Stripped Down, they released models clad in mini skirts and backless shift dress. Though the micro hemlines caught a great deal of the attention, the biker jackets might have stolen the show.
Photo: Courtesy of Prada
Though they never truly went out of style, the leather biker jackets often came in shrunken varieties that we paired with floral dresses and distressed denim during their prominence amidst the 2000s and early 2010s. This season, the pendulum swung the opposite direction as oversized silhouettes dominated the conversation. The styling then upped the ante. Contrasted with micro minis in stiff, gleaming satin, the distressed menswear-inspired outerwear emerged as distinct and fresh. Instead of opting for the frilly, girly styling of decades prior, Prada and Simons selected structured, elegantly feminine silhouettes to play against the lived-in fabrication of the jackets.
Days later, Maria Grazia Chiuri at Christian Dior showed similar varieties but this time paired with a corresponding element of a skirt suit. The jackets displayed similar rugged ideals that we saw at Prada. With a slightly more aggressive design, Richard Quinn opted for embellishments of dangerous varieties in biker jackets laden with studs and spikes. Then in London, Simone Rocha, a constant proponent of the style, showed hers with balloon sleeves layered over shirting and lacy skirts.
Photo: Alessandro Lucioni / Gorunway.com
Photo: Daniele Oberrauch / Gorunway.com
Photo: Daniele Oberrauch / Gorunway.com
The great thing about this trend is that many of us have one of these jackets (or at least something similar) hanging in our closets. And if you do not, it's not a style that many retailers ever retire. So either dust yours off immediately or shop our edit below. And when it comes to styling be sure to remember that, in the words of the band Cake, we "want a girl in a short skirt and a long jacket."
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Top photo: Courtesy of Prada
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