Backstage at Prada Mens AW13

Never in a million years I would have thought to see the works of a legendary design empire taking place in front of my very own eyes. I'm grateful to think that this actually happens and it might even be a chance of a lifetime...

 We entered Fondazione Prada compound on Via Fogazzaro 36 and subsequently I was escorted to the backstage area, while Arman patiently waited outside for the show to start. The backstage is an all-white space with bare walls, except for photographs of previous Prada collections and images of bag/jacket craftsmanship in progress. The area was filled with models lounging outside the makeup room, makeup artists, stylists, crews, bodyguards and photographers like me. My maiden attempt taking photos inside the space was initially awkward due to my newness but as I started to feel at ease I could feel my index finger excitedly clicking away for photos...

I honestly don't follow models names but can you identify them in these pictures?

It feels really refreshing to see how calm and organized the process backstage is (a stark contrast from popular culture depicting pre-runway as a chaotic mess of designers and crews shouting in frenzy and models frantically dressing up for the next look).

In fact, I felt that the atmosphere is ever so relaxed despite the throng of paparazzi-like photographers snapping with flashes and whatnot (but then again this is a brand with years of experience, and menswear tends to be smaller in scale in comparison to womenswear, so I might be wrong here).

Models who were done with maquillage sat outside the makeup room, chatting, and those who weren't were skillfully taken care of by a team artists led by Pat McGrath.

 Okay I'm not a big time model follower but seeing puppy dog-eyed Clément Chabernaud in-person has ingrained a new model obsession in me...

There are few familiar faces here - not just models, but the make-up artists and photographers as well, but thanks to my almost non-existent backstage knowledge, there's no bell ringing in my head right now...

Sometimes good things happen very unassumingly. Case in point: as soon as I finished taking photos and waited outside, there you go - Miuccia Prada walked in, getting ready to be interviewed by Suzy Menkes!

As you can see clearly taking Mrs Prada's picture is not permitted. Does this mean that I'm a full-pledged paparazzi? 

Once the make-up was ready, models lined up one by one (just like school boys queuing up in files for assembly) and headed to a special room where the magic happens - the dressing room. Understandably only a select few of photographers were allowed in. I rushed to the photographers pit for the runway show with a feeling of elation at the thought of the overwhelming experience...

Word and photos by Hafidzudin Zainal