Prada has all the time thrived on contradiction. And for Spring/Summer time 2026, founder Miuccia Prada and her longtime collaborator Raf Simons leaned into this with a prepared depth throughout their Milan presentation. In a stripped-back Fondazione set—suppose naked concrete columns, sky-high ceilings and shiny orange ground—the artistic duo supplied a pointy, virtually wry response to the “overload of up to date tradition” that permeates the present panorama.
“Every thing is so hardcore on this planet proper now,” Simons remarked backstage. Their reply? Garments that disrupt and defy expectation, delighting us with renewed perspective whereas filling a utilitarian hole.
Uniform, historically essentially the most inflexible of costume codes, was their start line. Clothes usually thought of extra on the extreme aspect—boxy officers’ shirts, trousers with sharp pleats, V-neck sweaters—had been subverted with Prada’s signature mischief. Crystals adorning crewneck collars, satin opera gloves scaling up army sleeves, taffeta puffball skirts peeking beneath raincoats and lived-in leather-based layered over uncooked silks. It was composed authority softened by eccentric flecks of glamour, a reminder of Prada’s enduring perception that garments, like our aptitude for dressing, ought to by no means be pigeon-holed.
True to type, the true thrill lay within the oddities. Skirts Frankensteined along with mismatched materials, one aspect erupting in ruffles and the opposite in delicate lace. Suspender skirts that hovered away from the physique, exposing midriffs between crop tops and pocketed bloomer shorts. Lingerie was once more reimagined, this time with a concentrate on the bra. First stripped of standard assist, silhouettes had been later decreased to mere outlines, loosely floating round torsos like ghost clothes.
Elsewhere, embroidered crests adorning deep-cut necklines and slack pinafore attire thrown over crisp units additional emphasised a narrative of bourgeoisie revolt and unorthodox styling—becoming vogue for a world gone mad. As all the time, the off-kilter stability between utility and frivolity held true, and urged us to rethink what we all know.
In an period when Prada’s distinct lexicon appears to be in every single place, the unique stays elusive. Prada and Simons proceed to remain forward, demonstrating the timeless class of contradiction and reminding us that even in a time when liberties are more and more stripped, the selection to dress, to create, and to buck towards conventions stays ours.
