In this remarkable book, Kayoko Ota, Rem Koolhaas's think tank AMO, the design firm 2x4 and Prada staff in Tokyo, Milan and New York explore and honor the skirt, celebrating it as a vehicle of movement and shape. Tulle, pleats and printed patterns are fanned out like flowers against white backdrops, running off the edge of full-bleed pages, their photos glazed and varnished. Thumbnail images of each model are indexed with listings of their details. Waist Down is a fascinating view into Prada's designs, and a stimulating investigation of the skirt as a wondrous zone of invention, as central to the brand as the brand is to contemporary fashion.  (less)