Schiaparelli and Prada

This catalog was done by designer Abbott Miller of the design firm Pentagram for The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s 2012 exhibition of the Fashion house Prada. The exhibition at The Costume Institute of The Metropolitan Museum of Art  is entitled: Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations.

The role of the catalog is to introduce the subjects to the viewers of the exhibit and what we are seeing are representational photographs of the designs. The high contrast and vibrant colors are eye catching to the viewer and display the clothing designs in an organized geometric manner.  It introduces the viewer to the shock value of the modern design aesthetic of the brand.

The abstract value of the catalog when it is stripped down to merely the binding and photographs, we see visuals of women in clothing and accessories.  As a viewer, you respond by either feeling pleasant emotions from the finding the beauty in the design or you can feel the latter. 

Symbolically the catalog is painting a picture of the evolution of the fashion house transitioning through different time periods.  They photographs visualize the important elements of what aesthetic and cultural values were important at each particular place in time.