Layering – simple in concept, yet utterly effective. When dressing for autumn and winter, layering is the only way to make an outfit truly pop, balancing practicality with that visual impact one desires. Prada’s AW26 collection demonstrated this with its usual mastery. Coats, dresses, knits, and archival fragments overlapped. Satin peeking from rough wool, faded embroidery emerging from minimal shells, archival dresses nested like fossils within contemporary forms.
However, before diving into the collection, due reverence must be paid to the footwear – because, quite frankly, they are main characters of their own. At Prada, shoes are never an afterthought. They are often the thesis distilled to ankle height. This season, before one could even process the stratified coats or the embedded archival fragments, the gaze dropped – involuntarily – to the ground.
The casting added another layer of depth to the presentation. Prada’s decision to centre the show around a recurring group of fifteen women is almost manifesto-like. Each model becomes a vessel through which the collection’s layered philosophy comes alive. And when Bella Hadid is among them, the impact intensifies – her presence alone signals seriousness, longevity and cultural weight. And let’s be honest, we all love to see her.
Silhouettes shifted between structure and fluidity. Oversized, utilitarian coats draped over delicate dresses; tailored jackets collided with frayed knits. Some fabrics were intentionally distressed, patinated, suggesting garments with a history that extends beyond the runway. A moment must also be made for the scarves. They felt like the ultimate personality pieces – the kind you could flick or drape just so, adding the perfect amount of sass to your day.
And then there was pink. From shirt cuffs peeking out of jackets to punchy fuchsia linings. Lately it feels its been a while to see a major House truly master pink and – at last – Prada has done it.
When you watch a collection and then uncover the meaning behind it, everything falls into place. For this show, Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons confronted the runway with an unflinching truth: “the inherent pluralities, a reflection of the multifaceted realities of women and the complexities of life.” And in that truth lies the power of Prada AW26: a collection that doesn’t just dress women, but celebrates them in all their layered, contradictory, unapologetic complexity. Rewatch the show
