Prada Spring 2012 Makes Hot Rods Cool Again

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• Image via Style.com
• Image via Style.com
• Image via Style.com
• Image via Style.com
• Image via Style.com

Not since the days of James Dean have hot rods been in fashion, but if anyone can change that, it's Miuccia Prada. Photos have come out for the Prada spring ad campaign, and it's set in a '50s-style gas station. The models, who look to be straight out of Rebel Without a Cause casting (except maybe skinnier and more bored looking), are reclining on retro road racers.

The print campaign mirrors Prada's Spring 2012 runway theme, which incorporated two vintage cars on the stage set, as well as the actual ready-to-wear collection, which features car-print dresses, roadster-inspired dusters, and hot rod–themed stilettos.

This is all kind of literal for Prada, who's collection themes usually tend towards the abstract. But according to the press release, this automotive symbolism is all part of a grander statement on the state of the times, a "post-modern crossroads of new horizons and economic fulfillment, a stage set where fashion, fantasy and the promise of new discoveries collide."

Clothing from the collection should be arriving in stores in January-February, so you can check it out for yourselves.

•Prada Ready-to-Wear Spring 2012 Collection [Style.com]
• Prada [official site]