Prada delivers spectacle of fashion theatrics during autumn/winter 2014 show Miuccia Prada walks that fine line better than anyone. She's Italian fashion's most consistent performer. Her autumn/winter 2014 show was a paean to performance, models mounting raised podiums atop an already towering catwalk, circling the audience and a live woodwind ensemble. Spotlights and oompah band music conspired to a Cabaret mood. More divine decadence and a touch of decay than all-singing, all dancing. That was reflected in the garb of Mrs Prada's cast of fashion characters, rakish men in lightweight wool suiting, shoulder-tossed scarves, stockingette knits and fur, a smattering of female models turning tricks in taut leathers and chiffon negligees with a hint of Saint Laurent circa 1972, underlining the oft-androgynous air of her menswear offerings. But there was also sportswear with the suiting, quilted utility vests and nylon bags. In a sense, a tailored suit and a tracksuit are both forms of costume, as extreme to some as the full-length furs and fox tippets Prada fastened around her models. In the theatre, dressing the part is half of the performance. Look like a businessman, act like a businessman, and who's to say you're not? Prada was a celebration of the transformative theatre of fashion and the performative power of clothing. Ultimately what matters is that this was a virtuoso showing, a cap to a strong second day of the Italian winter menswear shows. Some were unexpected, like the subtle pinstriped suiting in delicious shades of blueberry, grape and lychee ochre in Massimiliano Giornetti's Salvatore Ferragamo collection. Tomas Maier's Bottega Veneta collection opened the day with soft clothes for hard times; hyper-luxurious thermals worn beneath - or instead of - slimline suiting. The idea was country and city combining, which is shaping up to be a seasonal theme, justifying outfits that fuse the formal with the sporting, or juxtapose the two.