Prada, SS11, Milan.

In the long space of time between when we first see garments on the catwalk and when they start to arrive in store, the original memory of a collection can become diluted. By the time the actual garments arrive in a retail environment we will likely have seen the colours appropriated for high street collections and the silhouettes replicated and toned down. By this time we have even been shown the catwalk collection of the next season, so we’re already beginning to slip into the mindset of the wrong climate altogether.

The best way to be inspired anew is simply to look back at the original catwalk images and remember why the collection looked so fresh in the first place. A perfect example is the Spring-Summer 2011 collection from Prada that was heralded as such an optimistic game-changer for the season. The swatches of fabrics, patterns and colours shown above have been abstracted away from the garments and the quirky accessories. Even simplified down to this pure form you can still see why this collection got the editors all excited.

At the end of the day these are just really great colours. Fresh, pure and bright, they have been hidden from trend reports for a season or two and that all helps to make them primed for their reappearance in the context of a very strong collection. Afterall fashion is so much about context, about the right thing at the right time – and Miuccia Prada definitely has a knack for reminding us about the colours and styles that we never knew that we always wanted.

Catwalk images from Vogue.co.uk»