The Prada AW18 Show Was One For The History Books, Here’s Why…

Prada presented it's autumn winter 2018 collection at Milan Fashion Week and in the process made history. For the first time in 21-years, a woman of colour has opened a show for the Italian design house.

While the label is known for positing progressive sartorial statements that speak to the wider socio-economic and political atmosphere, they've been severely lacking at tackling fashion's diversity problem.

In 1997 Naomi Campbell was the first black model to step foot on the brand's Italian runway. It took another decade for Jourdan Dunn to follow Campbell's footsteps and become the second women of colour to walk their catwalk.

Even though Prada has promoted diversity, including, age, race and ethnicity within its advertising campaigns, this week's AW18 catwalk was the first time since Campbell that a WoC has opened a show. The model in question is Instagram-famous Sudan-born Anok Yai. The biochemistry student at Plymouth State University was discovered after an image of her at Howard University homecoming went rival, racking up over 21,000 Likes. Ever since she's become an internet star and a hot commodity on the catwalk.

Yai, along with Kaia Gerber, Amber Valletta, Sasha Pivovarova, Liu Wen and Fei Fei Sun, showcased a future-facing interpretation of the house's codes. Tulle dresses were teamed with nylon bustiers and wellies and drawstring socks, fluoro paillettes were layered over polo-necks and tulle or worn over sleeveless poncho dresses, which at once recalled previous collections and moved on the discussion. Equally dystopian and romantic, utilitarian and visionary, there was an underlying tension that pushed and pulled at this multifaceted vision of Fall 18. But, at the end of the day, it will most likely be remembered as the moment Miuccia Prada acknowledged the label's first and foremost need to embrace diversity.