It’s my favorite time of the year: fashion week. 

It always feels perfectly timed, coming right around when my closet is shifting into winter wear and I’m in dire need of inspiration. Lately, I’ve been dreaming of pony hair bags, koi fish details and polka dots.

Polka dots, particularly, have been stuck in my head all summer. Maybe it’s because I’ve been searching for a perfect polka dot dress (currently eyeing the navy blue “Michelangelo” midi dress from Enduring Kairos), but maybe it’s because I’ve been thinking about the math behind the perfect polka dot print. 

I always think of a classic pyramid format to create the symmetrical polka dots that ease my mind. Beyond that and the mastering of a structured “random” pattern print, I’ve been in deep consideration as to how large the dots should be. I found a beautiful, red top at a sample sale that had romantic ruffles on the thin sleeves, donning small dots everywhere in a youthful freckled pattern.

This obsession with dots led me back to a children’s book I loved reading when I was younger titled “The Dot.” In the story, a girl in art class submits a single dot as her drawing. The artwork ends up leading her to worldwide fame for her one-dot paintings. Was the genius in the simplicity of her design — like something from Yohji Yamamoto or Alaïa? Or was the beauty in the details, only seen and appreciated up close — like the new Spring/Summer 2025 Prada womenswear collection?

There were two accessories that made me fall in love with the new Prada collection, and surprise, surprise — one of them involved polka dots. 

The first looked like the child of a silk brown polka dot scarf and giant tinted sunglasses. Fitted on your head like a hat, the piece brings a retro-chic twist to two accessories that already add dimension on their own. Despite the theatrics of the giant frames, this accessory is almost reminiscent of the angular face of a grasshopper, with the delicate sheen of a pink ladybug. If I could pull it off, I would wear it almost every day, living out my cool-girl-junebug dream. 

The second was a take on Prada’s belt bag — a rectangular handbag with a belt attached to the top, as if holding the bag up. I initially ignored this style in the hunt for my first designer bag, feeling it was one-seasonal and too similar to the Andiamo from Bottega Veneta and Toteme’s leather bucket bag. 

I felt if I was going to go for a belted bag look, I wanted something more distinct, like Diesel’s Grab-D Hobo bags or Hodakova’s draped and braided belt buckle shoulder bag. However, this new spin on the Prada bag included my love for hardware, including grommets and studs in both of these more structured and bucket bag styles. 

This sliver of silver contrasting demanding hardware punctuation was a major theme in the collection. From the satin and reflective pointed heels to the locks and rings on dresses, Prada is rooting for an edgier fall as we leave the soft and hazy memories of summer behind.

Beyond impeccable styling and craftsmanship, the collection has made me realize that, this winter, I want my clothes to be interesting from up close, rather than demanding attention from a distance. 

Maybe part of this is my more conscious effort to work on my energy and allow my outfit to speak on my behalf, but also because I want more of my pieces to be conversation starters. Perhaps it’s a little selfish — purposely wearing items that could spark interest purely because fashion is a topic I can talk about endlessly. But why shouldn’t I want to share with the world the story behind buying the perfect piece or finding something at a sample sale I arrived four hours early to?

These minute details always stem from a choice, whether we realize it or not. And when further prodded to explain our reasoning behind dark wash jeans or a cream top instead of snow white, we often surprise ourselves with an answer we didn’t know we had in our back pocket. 

I want to share my world with you — stitches and all — from a distance and especially face to face. So get up close and personal with my outfit, and I’ll tell you all about it. 

Hadyn Phillips is a senior writing about fashion in the 21st century, spotlighting new trends and popular controversy in her column, “That’s Fashion, Sweetie,” which runs every Wednesday.