Prada duo distil luxury to essentials at Milan fashion week

Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons presented a minimalist collection at Milan fashion week on Sunday, describing the range as a purified version of the brand that explicitly rejects experimental shapes, techniques, and decoration. Speaking backstage before the show, the co-designers stated the collection aims to break perceptions of typical luxury in high fashion by focusing on intentional, meaningful pieces rather than decorative excess. Prada cited "useless design" as a new obsession, noting she hates it more than anything in the current period, while Simons compared the design philosophy to pasta al pomodoro, emphasising well-executed simplicity with few ingredients.

The duo distilled the range to essential items including jeans, a jeans jacket, a T-shirt, one timeless blazer, and a leather blouson. Jeans were selected as the starting point because they are the most universal item in fashion. The opening look featured white jeans, a white denim jacket, and a navy blazer. While no blue denim was featured in the show’s 50 looks, the white jeans were reimagined in leather versions in colours including banana, Pepto-Bismol pink, and aubergine.

Every jean and trouser was cut to be skinny, hitting just above the ankle bone and styled with pointy buckled shoes. Jean jackets were cropped to just above the hip bones, resulting in flashes of skin. Leather jackets were shrunken or styled underneath sleeveless patterned knits, and gauzy versions of the jeans and jackets were used as underlays. The only accessories were small bag pouches hung from belts above the trouser loops.

The catalyst for this distillation process was the realisation that nothingness is very precise and far more difficult to achieve. The collection builds on a concept from their February womenswear show, where outfits were created by removing or re-wearing the same pieces. Simons, who has worked in partnership with Miuccia Prada since 2020, expressed a desire to stimulate street-style influence again, contrasting the current confusion of choice with the clearer fashion tribes of the 1990s.

Simons reflected on how during his early 20s it was easier to relate to particular fashion tribes, noting that the direct influence of catwalk trends on high street fashion seen in the 90s has weakened in recent years. He suggested that the industry needs to think about how to stimulate that connection again, so it does not feel dictated solely by high fashion brands and their events. At the end of the day, he noted, the goal is to have people on the street wear their clothes.