Prada set an ambitious conceptual tone for its Men’s Fall 2026 show in Milan. In the show notes, Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons stated that “universal human values, values of civilization — culture, meaning, intelligence, care — may be conveyed through clothes.”
It was a demanding idea for a collection built around shirts with dangling, purposely iron-burned French cuffs, flaring wool trousers and the skinniest topcoats of the Milan season. Precision and discomfort were central to the message rather than ease or familiarity.
“It’s the Ozempic era for menswear, too,” one guest said while leaving the show, staged inside a space resembling a gutted apartment building, where ornate moldings, colonial windows and marble fireplaces clung to the remaining outer walls.
The uneasy mood was reinforced by a growling Virgin Prunes and Suicide soundtrack, as well as the post-show chaos backstage. “The idea was respecting a lot of the codes of the past, but also trying to innovate,” Simons said above the noise.
In the show notes, Prada explained the emotional logic behind the collection: “Uncomfortable is the perfect word, for me, for the psychology of this moment in time. We know so little — we can’t predict the future. So we need a clarity, a precision in clothes. There is a sense of the before, which interests us, even as we search for the new. That is a sign of respect.”
That clarity was expressed through an extremely narrow silhouette. Long, tubular coats buttoned high were worn casually, hands buried in pockets, evoking bombers or blousons with a faint ’70s undertone. Models wore crumpled caps and bucket hats, sometimes flattened and fixed just over the right shoulder blade, an intentionally awkward styling detail.
As an alternative, Prada and Simons proposed flaring macs and classic trenchcoats layered with colorful utility capes. Still, it was the severe slender line that lingered most strongly, unlike anything else seen in Milan.
Textures and finishes carried equal weight. Purposeful imperfections appeared throughout: crushed and weathered shirt cuffs, rumpled brown leather used for quilted down coats and blousons, and waterproofed coats with abraded seams and elbows revealing tweed beneath. These treatments suggested wear, memory and time.
Unusual colors — old rose, deep purple, anise green and mauve — softened the severity and brought visual surprise, hinting at the value of pleasure even in uneasy moments.
Prada’s Fall 2026 men’s collection ultimately balanced restraint and disruption, using structure, texture and imperfection to reflect uncertainty, while insisting on precision as a form of care.
