Prada's House Party

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Last month’s annual Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala brought many things to New York – the Kardashians, attention, a windfall to florists and makeup artists the city over – but this year it also brought something else: the Prada Cruise 2019 show.

It was only last year that Miuccia Prada joined the relatively small group of brands (Dior, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Gucci) that hold between-season runway extravaganzas in far-flung cities of their choice. But for her sophomore outing, Prada decided to take advantage of the presence of pretty much everyone she could ever want in her audience all needing to be in the same place at the same time — plus the fact that she had to be there herself anyway to host a table at the gala – to unveil her collection in New York.

Smart, right? It was like a pre-party for the party. A mini gala in Prada mode. A Pradala. But that’s kind of her thing (the smarts). If Maria Grazia Chiuri at Dior has positioned herself as the feminist’s creative director, Prada has always been the thinking woman’s designer – treated backstage like some sort of political philosopher queen of the industry, mobs of journalists hanging on her every musing, esteemed guests whispering hosannas in her ear.