For Prada SS26, returning to the idea of clothing as something “direct” and “non-conformist” feels like a bold gesture, especially for a house known for its intellectual layering and tension. The house’s fashion may appear simple, but it’s never without subtext and rarely, if ever, straightforward.
“A change of tone” was how Prada titled its SS26 menswear collection in its 41-word press release, which read more like notes scribbled on leftover post-its than an actual press statement. Presented on a quiet Sunday in Milan at the Fondazione Prada, the clues as to how things are different with this particular collection were exposed in the set design before even the first look came out.
Stripped to its bare essentials, the space had no scaffolding, no fountains of slime, and the absence of any Severance-styled swivel chairs that provided the context of previous collections. Instead, it was illuminated by natural light streaming through large windows against its vast open space, and encompassing the floors of the bare auditorium was just a slew of taffeta carpets designed by the house’s long-term collaborator Rotterdam-based architecture studio OMA, led by Rem Koolhaas, and a few basic white benches.
The clothes were, to put it mildly, simple too. To be fair, there was not much to talk about it, which felt more like the point of the collection and not a diss from us. Though a few pieces stood out and distilled certain elements of what is essentially the Prada style — such as technical materials and off-beat proportions with unapologetically short shorts that are the new male Prada silhouette moving forward — not much of the collection felt, Prada.
Tailoring is also a focal point in this collection, as are solid colours and avoidance of prints, an element that’s quintessential to the Prada language. Though, of the 56 looks, that waltzed down the runway, most of them were completely wearable and resembled the things you’d see in its house’s evergreen collections at its boutiques, which again, isn’t quite Prada.
In the interviews Raf Simons had with the press after the Prada SS26 menswear show, the co-creative director mentioned that the house had intended “to make a little contribution with something genuine, nice.” He adds that the collection is “the opposite of the aggression, power and nastiness that runs the world now.” This change of heart feels especially fitting in a time when trends are clouded by conflicting narratives and deep introspection. For Prada to make such a creative design, it can only be seen as a bold declaration — a step forward in pushing fashion ahead once more.
Think of it as a moment of reinvention, January 1st style. Kinda like drafting new mood boards on Pinterest for a new personality, or wiping your Instagram page clean with 9 blank posts just because you’re into something new. It’s not to say the collection was boring, as initial reactions to it may put out. The collection is a time of intervention for Prada. And if this is Prada at its slowest, imagine them at their most impressive, which we like to think, is just around the corner.
Once you are done with this story on the Prada SS26 collection, click here to catch up with our June/July 2025 issue.