Miuccia Prada really struck a chord with us this Fall 08. Her collection for Prada is included on our top five list, alongside, so far, Preen and Yves Saint Laurent. This list is as honest as it gets and so we've no qualms doubling up (heck, if it weren't honest we wouldn't have the nerve to put Preen and YSL on the same scoreboard)--and so we're also going to include Miu Miu Fall 08 as one of our favorites. Prada's collection for Miu Miu was inspired by sportswear, specifically jockey uniforms, and gave a slight wink to the lace in the Prada collection. Miu Miu, which takes on a younger persona than Prada in the first place, was full of playful tech inspired frocks and layers. It seemed to us a collection with the same sinister mood as the Prada show however appropriate to its own persona. Those jewel tones, neoprene-like fabrics, and boyish lolita-esque styling, made for a collection that could inspire all kinds of Fall fashion personas. And this is why we liked it best. Something about this collection stirred up in us all kinds of creative ideas about what might become of Fall 08 and that's not something you can say about most collections. Miuccia we heart you. Lots.

Today and tomorrow, in spirit of impending Fall deliveries and the Spring 09 season, we're going to wrap-up our top five favorite Fall 08 shows. We indulge in plenty of independent and contemporary fashion and we're just in the mood for some old fashioned high design. To start, our ultimate favorite, Prada Fall 08. We never disliked this collection, not from the first moment we set eyes on it, but we will say that over the months the thing has taken on a whole new shape for us. When we first saw the collection we likened the lace to the recession and thought it was slightly unwearable but smart and editorial-friendly. These ideas were realized and now we've seen the lace everywhere, from six Pop covers to the red carpet to the already-delivering knock-offs and since then, we've really fallen in love. There's something so sexually repressed and yet aggressive going on, something that puts contemporary fashion, quite literally, to shame. Prada Fall 08 is all about opposites: it's transparency versus opacity, femininity versus masculinity, and lavishness versus conservatism. It's safe to say that lace is going to be pretty prominent for the next year. Check out our gallery below and the whole collection here.

Fashion can often feel like one elaborate practical joke. Overpriced trinkets, beauty defined by fifteen year old girls with budding eating disorders, and a caste system that operates exclusively on rejection do not exactly engender fashion to serious minded folk. But like good economists we shrug our shoulders and say "what the market will bear" and move on. But today we ran across our network partner Slam X Hype's post on Prada tchotchkes for the Olympic games. Normally we would have shrugged our shoulders and moved on, but we decided to click through on the source material. We made it to Hypebeast which subsequently led us to a very sketchy looking site. Now Nylon seems to think that these goodies are real and frankly we don't feel much like playing detective further.

But regardless of the little Build A Bear-esque creation's authenticity, we have to admit that the creatures are pretty hysterical. They scream hipster irony even when irony is, well, played out. Maybe its the fact that Prada is gunning for an IPO but the idea of a completely silly product diffusion line for a controversial sporting event (Tibet, who cares, not our President) seems like Muccia Prada's way of giving us all the finger. But in a really subtle cute way! The line works on just about any level no matter who designed it or what level of fashion reality it is operating on.

So put on a boyfriend blazer, wear some wayfarers, rock your skinnies, and put on a Prada bear tee shirt! Maybe even carry the keychain. A crazy cross cultural clashing mix of influences, brands, cool, product placement, and rampant consumerism brings together the best of art, commerce and international relations. Its a fantastic fashion joke! Even if it ends up being on us.

Walking by the Prada store in Soho yesterday we noticed the lace frocks from the Fall 08 collection in the window. We turned to our companion, "But...it's June". Delivery dates aside, when clothing reaches a certain price, it's just, you know, available and it's not that we forgot that this was the way things roll out in fashion, but poised right across from Uniqlo and H&M, it was a hard pill to swallow. The mass-market retailers thrive on delivery dates that beg their consumers to anticipate every capsule collection and collaboration to hit stores. Nothing is just casually put in the window, nothing worth hype is released without a full-on parade by way of advertising and the press. And, yet, there are the lace frocks, just sitting there. We suppose the point is that to have them in the window is the same as having them in a magazine. It's still something most fashion consumers can't afford, it's still something aspirational. That street, we postulated after walking further West, is like the Bermuda Triangle of fashion. Serious economic downturn or no, the retailers know how to dangle the bait.

Prada's latest creation, the Prada Epicenter, is located in Tokyo’s fashionable Aoyama district. The six-story and five-sided glass building features multidimensional architecture that plays out with a continuous flow of traffic. The diamond shaped glass panes come in convex and concave versions that simultaneously reflect the interior of the boutique and draw passers-by inward. At ground level there is an outdoor plaza, which slants conveniently toward the entrance and, once inside, movement from floor to floor is dictated by three tubes which slice through the space and function as changing rooms.

Gorgeous natural light bathes the store during the day, drawing linear shadows on the uniform white décor, and, at night, glass tables are lit from within and sparkling ceiling lights shine down from the perforated ceiling. When the store is closed, between sunset and dawn, animations are projected onto the three ventricle tubes that, as if this were the heart of Aoyama, pulse with increasing intensity as the city sleeps.