New Yorkers were teased with unseasonably balmy weather over the weekend, but spring is still a month away. It will be even longer until we can leave the house without a jacket or break out our new bikinis—but until then, Prada’s store in SoHo can function as a kind of escape. Today, its “Hyper Leaves” installation, first unveiled at Galeries Lafayette in Paris, is making its stateside debut. Billed as a combination of “reality and imagination” inspired by nature, it’s visible even from a few blocks east of Broadway: The corner windows are newly neon, with blown-up graphics of ferns and monstera leaves glowing behind mannequins dressed up in Prada’s spring collection.
Inside, the concept gets more immersive: Real plants mingle with massive neon-lit structures, including a tower on the lower level that nearly reaches the ceiling. Throughout the entire store, the carpets were updated in a bright lawn green, peppered with plastic-leaf-shaped product displays. Perched on top are new raffia totes, espadrilles, and other items you might pack for an actual trip; hanging on the rails are dip-dyed midiskirts, sheer polo knits, and vibrant Hawaiian-print shirts to throw in too—plus a less beachy expansion of the label’s popular color-blocked nylon parkas.
To walk in on a gray and misty morning, it was a warm departure from New York’s winter chill. The contrast of real and fake, natural and unnatural, also reflects Prada’s core philosophy of unlikely contradictions. If it feels too soon to be buying warm-weather fare, it’s safe to assume it will all go fast (especially since these are among the last pieces designed solely by Miuccia Prada, ahead of her new era of collaboration with Raf Simons). Regardless, it’s worth spending an hour or two (or more) inside for a healthy dose of bright lights, bold colors, and mood-elevating good vibes. It’s around this time of year that we all start to feel the winter blues, and a trip downtown is certainly a better way to deal than staying cooped up inside.
