prada | spring summer 26

The Prada man has gone feral – sort of. For Spring/Summer 2026, he’s ditched the boardroom and resurfaced somewhere between a lake and a lucid dream, sun-dazed and half-dressed, possibly clutching a novel he’s not really reading. At the Deposito show space at Fondazione Prada, the show opened on a floor of oversized daisy-shaped rugs, glowing under slats of light like they’d been beamed in from a parallel summer. It was whimsical, poetic almost, but not pretentious. Just Prada ‘dismantling power,’ and looking great while doing it.

Raf Simons and Miuccia Prada crafted a stripped-back collection that dismantles meaning, making everything look ‘easy.’ But easy, in Prada’s hands, doesn’t mean simple. It means mesh tanks layered over pastel shirting. It means shorts that sit somewhere between boxers and tailoring, and shirts buttoned to the top like you’re someone’s favourite intern at a wildlife photography magazine. The palette was unmistakably Prada: soft sage, washed-out turquoise, sun-baked yellow and a swirl of dusty pastels.

There was a kind of boyish impulsiveness to it all – prints reading “Lover’s Lake” and “Peak’s End” scrawled across shirts and knits, floral appliqués clinging to mesh like damp petals. Accessories felt like souvenirs from a good summer: square-toed sandals, satchels with just enough zips to feel outdoorsy, and those floppy raffia bucket hats – some prim and conical, others frayed and slouching like they’d survived a few misadventures. Easily one of the show’s most lovable details.

As always with Prada, precision quietly lurked beneath the apparent ease. Tailoring was softened but structured, vinyl trousers came balanced with airy tops, and silhouettes were exact even when the textures went rogue. A see-through knit with frayed edges might feel carefree, but the styling was razor-sharp.

Spring/Summer 2026 is the brand’s smoothest tone shift yet: at a time when fashion often insists on a message, Prada’s quiet refusal to overexplain felt like a palette cleanser. Not quite escapism, but a gentle permission to exhale.

Discover the collection here.

photography. Prada
words. Gennaro Costanzo