In Milan, where fashion usually celebrates excess and confidence, Prada offered something much more ambiguous. The Fall 2026 men's collection by Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons was like a whisper in an era of shouting: ascetic, nervous, at times even suspiciously slim. It was a show that sought not so much to please as to be remembered.
The silhouette was both the starting point and a statement. The designers consistently drew the male figure in a narrow, elongated line: tube coats fastened high under the neck, trousers flaring only at the ankle, shirts with a deliberately disrupted construction. Everything gave the impression of precisely controlled tension, as if the clothes were balancing on the edge of comfort but never fully crossing it.
In their notes on the collection, Prada and Simons referred to almost philosophical concepts, writing about culture, intelligence, care, and meaning as values that can be communicated through clothing. This is an ambitious thesis, especially when juxtaposed with shirts with iron-burned cuffs, ultra-thin coats, and wool trousers with unusual proportions. And yet, it was precisely this contradiction that gave the show its power.
The set design only added to the feeling of discomfort. The show took place in a space that looked like a relic of former glory: damaged stucco, marble fireplaces attached to the exterior walls, colonial-style windows. The whole thing gave the impression of a place abandoned, ravaged by time. In the background, the raw sounds of Virgin Prunes and Suicide played, creating a soundtrack for a world that had lost its stability.
One of the guests, leaving the room, jokingly remarked that it was “the era of Ozempic in men's fashion.” And indeed, the silhouettes were almost ascetic, devoid of unnecessary volume, as if the designers were deliberately distancing themselves from the seasonal trend for oversize. It was a disturbing, conscious, even intellectual slimness.
Raf Simons, trying to break through the chaos and buzz of conversation, spoke of respect for the rules of the past and the simultaneous need to reinterpret them. Prada, on the other hand, although almost invisible in the crowd, left a clear mark in the words written in the program: “Discomfort is the perfect description of the current psychology. We know very little. The future is unclear. That is why we need clarity and precision in clothing.” This thought seemed to permeate every element of the collection.
Coats were worn with apparent indifference, hands deep in pockets, shoulders slightly slumped as if they were ordinary bomber jackets rather than rigorously tailored constructions. This gesture echoed the spirit of the 1970s, but without nostalgia. Headwear included crumpled caps and hats.
Coats were worn with apparent indifference, hands deep in pockets, shoulders slightly slumped as if they were ordinary bomber jackets rather than rigorously tailored constructions. This gesture echoed the spirit of the 1970s, but without nostalgia. Headwear, crumpled caps and bucket hats, were often deformed, sometimes pinned to the side, right next to the shoulder blade, which looked like a fashion mistake turned into a manifesto.
An alternative to slim coats were classic trench coats and mac coats, complemented by practical, colorful capes. However, it was the consistent, slim line that dominated the narrative of the collection and most strongly distinguished it from the rest of the Milan season.
There was also no shortage of controlled “imperfections”: damaged cuffs, worn seams, and the elbows of waterproof coats revealing tweed underneath. Quilted jackets and sweatshirts made of crumpled brown leather looked like items with a history, worn, repaired, imperfect. This is fashion that does not pretend to be new, but consciously flirts with signs of wear and tear.
The color palette was equally unobvious: muted old rose, deep purple, anise green, and soft mauve. The colors did not scream, but mesmerized, as if the designers wanted to remind us that in times of unrest, the eye also needs pleasure and surprise.
Prada’s men’s collection for Fall 2026 does not provide simple answers. Instead, it asks questions about the future, the meaning of form, and how much can be expressed through a precisely tailored coat. It is an intellectually, aesthetically, and emotionally demanding collection that requires interpretation and it is precisely this complexity that makes it so noteworthy.
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