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MFW: PRADA SS26
MFW:PRADA SS26
On a caramel-orange expanse, the SS26 Prada runway set, the creative directors Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons presented one of the most focused collections of recent seasons. Fresh from a viral Interview released a few days ago, in which the two designers discuss contemporary themes such as the impact of international tensions on creativity and AI, the designers have just demonstrated extreme consistency in a signature collection that focuses on conceptual utility. «We are a company that has to sell clothes, so we make things that make sense to people, as creatively as we can. But it’s not a moment that is good for creativity. It’s an important moment for other fields, science for instance», Prada stated in the interview.
The first looks of the show served to embed this thought in the audience’s mind: blue work suits – not exactly bleu de travail, but close – paired with long, crumpled, and colorful satin gloves. On the wrist, a black leather bag that looked like a hybrid backpack with a shoulder strap. But a touch of romance could not be missing; even in dark times, poetry is needed. Thus followed a line of patchwork silk, lace, and pleated colour-block skirts, which combined with black brought out a cheerful, lighter tendency from the usual Prada austerity.
Playful bras, see-through skirts, beaded necklines, and elevated workwear aside, the look we might remember most from this collection remains – as always – what Miuccia Prada wore for the final bow: a white shirt dress with a blue collar, pumps, and a saffron-colored silk shawl. In Eastern cultures, orange metaphorically represents fire, renunciation of material goods, and spirituality. Perhaps the choice of wearing this color, also the same as the show set, reflects the designers’ intentions for their current artistic direction at Prada. «I hate nostalgia», Simons said in the Interview Magazine interview. This collection, although rooted in old wardrobe archetypes, lacked pop references or items designed to go viral. Like a fire that crumples instead of burns, it may have sparked something new.
Adelaide Guerisoli
MFW: PRADA SS26
MFW: PRADA SS26
MFW: PRADA SS26
MFW: PRADA SS26
MFW: PRADA SS26
MFW: PRADA SS26
MFW: PRADA SS26
MFW: PRADA SS26
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