Steven Meisel Lenses Prada's Mysterious New Campaign

Mrs Prada called upon old friend Steven Meisel to lens the new Prada 2020 Holiday campaign. The latest addition to Meisel's Prada portfolio takes the guise of film noir as a series of images tease fragments of narrative, paying homage to the label's on-going relationship with cinema.

Miuccia Prada has always intertwined Prada and sister brand Miu Miu with cinema. Women’s Tales are an on-going series of short films commissioned by female directors, encapsulating the spirit of Miu Miu via different perspectives, whilst for Prada's S/S 19 campaign, Mrs Prada had Willy Vandeperre shoot a small collection of films inspired by classic cinema.

'Miuccia Prada considers cinematic art as a natural language embracing various spheres, as sight and sound, that allow the creation of direct and immediate interaction with others, beyond fashion' the Prada group have said of the ties between the designer and cinema.

Now for the 2020 Holiday campaign, five archetypal Prada faces-Freja Beha Erichsen, Maty Fall, Mao Xiaoxing, Rudolfs Valbergs and Merlijne Schorren-take up their roles in an imaginary film set in the Villa Gnutti. Bringing to life an original short story A Stranger Calls written for Prada by author Candice Carty-Williams, each frame presents a clue to an unfolding narrative. Beha Erichsen adjusts her rectangular sunglasses as she appears to leave the villa, clinging onto her S/S 21 Cleo handbag- what crime is she fleeing from, we wonder. In another scene, a man prepares to slide an envelope into his Prada nylon cross-body bag, but what secrets are hidden within?

Meisel creates an enduring sense of mystery unique to the Prada sphere as we garner close-ups of brand staples for the season- a shirt and tie beckon in the Raf Simons era and a coat is clasped at the front in true Prada fashion. Glimpsed in different scenarios, it is ultimately up to the viewer to piece it all together. The campaign is set to develop online, pulling us in further to the ever-enchanting mysteries of the Prada universe.