Prada FW24 collection by Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons.
Prada blends a futuristic aesthetic with timeless elegance: it is no longer just a collection but represents an attitude. As Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons say, “History, for me, is always connected to the lives of people — references to past fashion speaks about past lives, and also how we live today. Reflecting on history teaches us our mistakes, our strengths. The past is the only thing we have. I hate the idea of nostalgia — as if history doesn’t teach you. History teaches you everything. Especially in difficult moments. This is a collection shaped by history. It’s not about nostalgia, it’s about understanding. Who we were, why we dressed like that. It’s about remembering our past, using this knowledge to move forwards”.
Miuccia and Raf merge fashion with fragments of stories, exploring concepts of beauty in a contemporary world shaped by memories. A love affair with the past. The knowledge of history not only inspires the present but defines it: for this season, the garments reference different eras, other times echoing synchronously, recontextualized. The past is a tool, a means of learning used to try to invent something new. However, more than an intellectual analysis, this collection is an emotional reaction to ideals of beauty that still resonate.
“We strive to make something beautiful. And you cannot talk about beauty without going to the past. You cannot erase the history of beauty – the history is what defines our ideas of beauty today. We always go back. In this moment which is such a complicated moment it is vital to know your history. Who you are, where you come from. You can only realise your future if you know your past.”
The past literally shapes the present. Elements drawn from history influence stereotypical garments of today, such as the leather jacket, bomber, and knitwear, changing their lines and details. The concept of fragments is literally reflected in the details incorporated into the garments and in the cut-out parts on the body, stripped away to expose inner layers. Skirts, where delicate silk contrasts with tailored wool, form a fabric facade where delicacy and vigor alternate.
There is an abundance of double constructions; ruffles and flounces reconsider their form and function. Seriousness in the front, intimacy in the back. Fitted silhouettes are softened by an accentuated verticality. Shoes and hats exaggerate proportions, while dresses embrace the body, exuding femininity. In turn, the gestural qualities of the feminine universe become intrinsic, with suspended bags and sunglasses evoking makeup. Ways of being become structures of doing, intangible traces of human lives taking on tangible form.
Materialization and reconstruction change the language of form by altering perception. Traditional masculine materials are reworked until they become intrinsically feminine. And the clichés of femininity — bows, ruffles, and flounces — are reconsidered, their meaning radically reevaluated. Why do they persist? Why are they attractive? The duo raises questions and sparks answers, marking the beginning of a conversation with the world, an exchange of ideas. This instinct, this desire to communicate and express oneself, is a fundamental human impulse, like touching, conveying our feelings through the clothes we wear: looking back, to look forward.
“There is a feeling of sentiment, of emotional memory. A sense of history but an attraction to different moments in time which now feel new. One of the challenges was thinking about taking fragments from history and fragments from the past — which could be victorian, 1920s, 1950s – but to not create a historical silhouette. This is not about a narrative history. At its heart this collection really expresses a love for fashion, our love for fashion.”
