At Prada: Airbrushing and the Woman

MILAN — “What is real and what is fake? What does the confusion of the two mean for our understanding of beauty?”

These are questions that have been raised again and again over the last few years, both inside the fashion industry and out — by legislators, the advertising industry and women, activist or not — as the truth versus airbrushing movement has reached epidemic proportions.

When they come up, they generally, and understandably, provoke passion and debate. Sometimes they provoke political activism. What they do not often provoke, however, is clothes.

Which is why the finale dresses, especially the white ones tagged in black, worked: stereotypical at base, the spray-painting gave them an urban edge that was additive. They were not just a sartorial stunt; they were smart. As a result they were, at long last on Mr. Scott’s runway, a step toward the real thing.

A version of this article appears in print on February 28, 2015, in The International New York Times. Order Reprints| Today’s Paper|Subscribe

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