February 27, 2026 |
The audience at Prada’s AW26 show thought they were glitching. Didn’t we just see Bella Hadid, Julia Nobis and Liu Wen a minute ago? They each reappeared after a super quick change in a slightly different look. It took a few seconds for the penny to drop, Mrs Prada and Raf Simons were showing their 60 look collection on just 15 models, who rapidly cycled four times round the runway taking off a top layer each time to reveal another aspect of their outfit.
The quick change concept brought an urgent energy to the show which was a love letter to layering. Simon’s explained the show was not about narrative or story, but about how we relate to our clothes and how we put them together in ingenious ways. “It’s a lot about the freedom to be inspired and to bring things together that feel contemporary to us,” he said. “What do I wear with what? What is possible? Can I do it another way?” He and Mrs Prada offered plenty of suggestions from floral embroidered socks with a somber trouser suit to pairing a blue button down shirt with a scarlet beaded slip and a sturdy brogue. Or putting a sheer black shift over white cotton bloomers and a matching vest. Mrs Prada said the styling was to express “the continuous necessity of change. What you thought was a flaring skirt first time around was revealed to be a fifties-style dress.
The show was held on the same bombed-out mansion set as the men’s, but with the addition layer of 16th and 17th century paintings and tapestries, 18th century Venetian mirror and consoles and antique chairs, lamps and paintings from the 1900s. The men’s show featured many deliberately frayed and distressed pieces. That theme carried into the womenswear along with the narrow coats some worn with little capelets. Creased shirts and trench coats, frayed collars and prints of peeling floral wallpaper all played into the idea of patina, wear and layers of memory held in a garment. In contrast to the deliberate chaos of the looks, were prim ladylike bags in embossed alligator adding another layer to the look.
Photography courtesy of Prada.
