Roaming through Badlands

Milan has swept past me and we’re into Paris.  Finally, a breather of a day to think about a veritable themes that are emerging from the shows thus far.  I’ve typed “Prairie” multiple times this past few weeks in reference to shows, without really investigating what it means other than my own vague memories of scenery in Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman or House on the Prairie.  It’s of course an ecosystem that really only exists in certain parts of the world, mainly North America, rooted by temperate tall grass and controlled by a particular climate.  The prairie vibes at Coach also felt rooted.  You sensed a certain kind of authenticity when these girls with their patchwork florals and leathers walked out onto the High Line with low cut cowboy boots and bags visible through the planted grasses and shrubbery.  This is yet another facet of Americana – most notably depicted by Terrence Malick –  refracted and reinterpreted by Stuart Vevers.  Like the mirrored runway, which gave a trippy effect to this indoor fauna-filled catwalk, this was no straightforward pastiche of prairie nor was the theme heavy handedly flung at you.