Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons presented their Prada Men’s Fall 2026 collection inside what resembled the remnants of bombed-out apartments, complete with fireplaces and ornate moldings clinging to empty walls, at Milan’s Deposito. This unsettling set became a metaphor for the clothes themselves, which grappled with history not through nostalgia, but through an intellectual excavation of sorts.
Titled “Before and Next,” the collection arrived at a time when menswear’s direction seems uncertain. Backstage, Simons used the word “archaeology” to describe the design process. This framing reshapes how you understand the clothes that walked the runway. These were not clothes that looked backward sentimentally. Rather, they were garments that treated the past as a working tool, something to be unearthed, examined, and rebuilt into forms that feel startlingly contemporary.
| 📌 Key Facts |
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| 🧠 Creative Directors: Miuccia Prada & Raf Simons 📍 Location: Deposito, Milan 🧱 Set Design: Ruined interiors evoking bombed apartments 🧥 Key Silhouette: Elongated, narrow coats with visible anatomical tension 🪶 Materials: Distressed leather, unlined coats, stained cuffs 🎨 Color Palette: Old rose, mauve, deep purple, anise green 🧭 Core Theme: Fashion as archaeology, precision as resistance to uncertainty |
Restrained silhouettes as a psychological statement
The silhouette told the most urgent part of the story. Prada proposed an elongated, severely narrow line that pulled tight at the shoulders and revealed the anatomy underneath. High-buttoning topcoats reached almost to the knee, yet they were worn with the casual indifference usually reserved for bomber jackets. This created a tension between formality and ease that felt distinctly modern.
These were not forgiving clothes. Shoulder blades shifted beneath the fabric and arms swelled against sleeves cut close enough to suggest constraint. Several coats were made of unlined leather so supple that you could make out the texture of the knitwear worn underneath. Miuccia Prada spoke about discomfort being the defining psychological state of the time, and the clothes embodied that idea without theatrics.
Narrow coats alternated with wider car coats and belted jackets that referenced vintage skiwear. This variety prevented the eye from becoming complacent. When the slim silhouette returned after these wider interludes, it registered with renewed force.
How Prada transforms historical fragments into modern menswear
Throughout the collection, collaged prints layered references to antiquity and the Renaissance onto single garments. Roman motifs surfaced unexpectedly. This suggested that history does not exist in neat chronological order, but rather in fragments that coexist simultaneously. Simons and Prada were interested in what endures from previous eras and what deserves to be carried forward.
Details reinforced this archaeological approach. Shirt cuffs extended far beyond coat sleeves, trailing loosely and marked with deliberate stains suggesting the passage of time. Jeweled cufflinks appeared on ears instead of wrists. Hats were pressed flat against the right shoulders, an eccentric styling choice that transformed an accessory into something closer to a relic.
The leather pieces commanded particular attention. Quilted down jackets were rendered in rumpled brown leather that looked weathered and well-worn despite being new. The material bore visible traces of folding and creasing, giving these garments a patina that suggested they had prior lives – almost like a pre-loved clothing illusion. This intentional imperfection challenged the usual obsession of luxury fashion with pristine surfaces.
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Redefining menswear elegance beyond traditional codes
Shirts came without collars and were treated like T-shirts rather than formal pieces. This subversion of traditional menswear codes ran throughout the collection. Utility capes were layered over trench coats to introduce unexpected color and function. Nothing felt arbitrary. The designers questioned which conventions still held meaning and which could be discarded.
The color palette moved away from standard menswear neutrals. Old rose, deep purple, anise green, and mauve appeared frequently. These unconventional choices came across as both refined and slightly unsettling, colors that refused easy categorization.
Backstage, Prada spoke about the challenge of creating luxury goods that could be damaged through use or carelessness. The collection presented that potential destruction as beautiful rather than tragic – an approach rooted in embracing imperfection. The pre-distressed leather and marked shirt cuffs suggested that authenticity matters more than perfection.
Precision as Prada’s answer to cultural and creative uncertainty
Both designers emphasized precision and clarity as responses to an unstable moment. Simons noted that, in uncertain times, clear ideas become reassuring. The collection demonstrated this principle through its precise silhouette and deliberate construction. Every element appeared considered, from the exact placement of the flattened hats to the precise length of the dangling cuffs.
The show space reinforced the theme. Fragments of interior architecture hung in midair, creating a liminal environment that felt simultaneously familiar and strange. What is usually concealed became visible. Private, domestic elements were exposed to public view. The parallel to the clothes was unmistakable; both revealed their construction and history rather than hiding it.
Prada and Simons set an ambitious goal for themselves, stating in their notes that “universal human values – values of civilization, such as culture, meaning, intelligence, and care – may be conveyed through clothes.” Whether narrow coats and distressed leather can truly carry that weight is debatable. However, the collection compellingly demonstrated that fashion can seriously engage with questions about what we preserve from the past and how Prada is building for the future.