AYDAH Foundation

Advancing Health and Improving Youth self development

African Youth Development and Health Foundation,

a non-profit group, organized to

Establish, Prevent and Maintain a comprehensive and efficient healthcare delivery to the youth and underserved communities

Provide opportunities and inspire the Youth through Education, Employment and Empowerment 

That Prada Dress


On the runway; Spring/Summer 2011


One of the (many) fun elements in fashion blogging is the insight we get into designer collections on the runway. Of course, you don’t have to be a fashion blogger to livestream Fashion Week online or read the runway reviews on Style.com. I did all of that before I was a blogger, but for me it took on a whole new meaning when SHE began. Suddenly every fashion magazine became a bit more inspiring, every runway show a bit more relevant. I started paying more attention to fashion as an industry and as a part of our daily lives. What's been really interesting to me is how I recognize different pieces from the collections as they make their way into magazines. I'm sure we all do that, right? We'll see a dress in a photoshoot and say, "Oh, that's so-and-so." We remember it from a good seven months ago when we all watched the collections premiere on the runway at Fashion Week. The saturated colors at Gucci, the ethereal beauty at Alexander McQueen; whether specific pieces or the whole collection, sometimes the designs just stay with you. For me, this particular dress from Prada was one of them. I recognized it first on Hailee Steinfeld at the Screen Actors Guild Awards back in the beginning of the year. But for April and May this dress really made the rounds.


Amanda Seyfried; Elle, April 2011


Tina Fey; InStyle, April 2011


Zooey Deschanel; Flare, May 2011


It's a Prada world right now, isn't it? I know dresses occasionally become iconic and everyone wants to wear them, but I don't think I would have really expected it from this one. I do love it, but really, who would've thought? At first I thought it was fun – and I still find it interesting to see how differently it looks on each woman – but then I asked myself...does this really help fashion to evolve, or are we just passing around the same designer pieces and standing still? How cool would it be to see a thrift store find on a cover girl, like Drew Barrymore wore to a film premiere last year? Or an up-and-coming designer? Just something completely unexpected?

So I'd like your thoughts, ladies. Do you like seeing the same dress on multiple celebrities or do you think the world of fashion media needs a lesson in originality?

- Casee Marie