An embrace of inherent pluralities, a reflection of the multifaceted realities of women and the complexities of life. The Prada Fall/Winter 2026 collection by Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons is informed by a fascination with the process of layering, of transforming through the day, through your clothes. Within each look, we discover multitudes.
A manifestation of how clothes are truly worn, in daily life, their layering here is simultaneously representative of a layering of histories, personal and collective, of memories and experiences. They express a notion of self-determination, agency. Equally, a defined cast of 15 women draws our attention to each within these evolving clothes – it allows an exploration of the infinite, ever-shifting facets of her character. Paradoxically, an apparent simplification can serve to convey complexities.
Perspectives transmute, both in transposition of garment types and their non-hierarchical mixing. Clothes are layered with precision – tailoring, sportswear, embroidered satin dresses, contradictory compositions that also speak to a distinctly Prada language of fashion. Fragments and fractures excite curiosity. Mutations from within, visible to the exterior, anticipate that which may lie beneath.
Fabrications fuse disparate identities, superimposed materials eaten away as a means of revelation. Archival dresses, like memories, can be embedded within other minimal garments – layers discovered, within layers. A passage of time is implied through demarcation and patinating, materials intentionally faded, precious embroideries aged, a new approach to decoration. They have lived.
In an echo of these ideas, the Deposito of the Fondazione Prada is populated by original artworks, significant furniture and objects: tapestry and a painting from the 16th and 17th centuries, 18th century Venetian mirror and consoles; chairs, lamps, and paintings from the 1900s. These artefacts span five centuries, divergent cultures, different places. Like the clothes, their meaning is layered, inherently personal, intimate, and filled with ceaseless possibilities.
