With Space Age cutouts, bug-eye glasses, trim knits and tromp l’oeil, bondage rings and bow blouses, Prada hit like a bolt of fashion lightning for spring 2025, injecting energy into what has been a sleepy week so far in Milan.
Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons spoke backstage about yearning for something more unpredictable and human, shaking up the algorithms that curate our realities, feeding us information tailored to our likes and dislikes. On the runway, they also shook up the idea of uniform dressing that has been a pillar of Prada, and that has dominated the wider fashion conversation of late.
“We wanted to show there are many ways of being Prada,” said the designer herself, admitting she was nervous about the season’s more freewheeling and piece-y approach, which was less about a studied look and more about creating individual style with inspiration from Peggy Guggenheim, Pierre Cardin — and Antman perhaps?
She needn’t have been; the collection was a total delight, ping-ponging from one idea to the next with remarkable ease, clashing eras, colors and sensibilities by pairing a fur-trimmed tweed lady jacket with an oil-slick leather miniskirt, for example, or a men’s trouser with trompe l’oeil belt and a red nautical knit bandeau. Because, why not?
Prada’s classic uniform of a pleated skirt suit was revamped with a caribiner belt and silver disc bandeau top, while a pink shirtdress and kerchiefs took on a playful, unexpected quality with wires sewn inside to make them moldable. And the house’s signature elaborate 3D embroideries were brought down to earth with sportswear touches, as seen in the look pairing a mirror ball of a silver shift dress with a yellow nylon windbreaker and cutout straw hat.
Body-hugging knits, bare midriffs and pants-less looks gave the collection a youthful verve more in line with sister brand Miu Miu and its Lyst index hotness. And ironically, considering the algorithm-busting inspiration, there were plenty of pieces with viral potential, including a teeny-weenie micro mini and ribbed leggings with the same cool low-slung trompe l’oeil belts.
A greatest-hits parade of Prada shoes featured colorful chunky sandals, platform brogues, loafers with curls on the toes, and pumps with winged heels, all of which should be good for the bottom line. And the glasses were sci-fi fabulous.
Somehow the designers were able to push the codes of the brand forward in new and surprising ways, even adding a couple of nods to Simons’ love of Americana in the cowboy boots and fringes. It should shake some jittery luxury consumers out of the doldrums, too.