The future looks familiar at Prada's spring summer 2025 show

WORDS Samantha Corry PHOTOGRAPHY Courtesy of GoRunway PUBLISHED Fri, 20 Sep 2024 - 5:00 pm

Today's digital age is full of paradoxes. We live in a world saturated with endless information and content, yet this vast landscape is shaped and controlled by rigid algorithms. This clash between the limitless possibilities of the internet and the restrictive frameworks of algorithms creates a dynamic tension. Prada's Spring/Summer 2025 collection captured this tension beautifully through its designs, balancing minimalism with structure and complexity. Held at the iconic Fondazione Prada – a space where art and fashion constantly collide – the setting couldn’t have been more fitting.

Prada Spring/Summer 2025 collection

For this show, Prada dug deep into the archives of timeless tailoring and pulled it into the future – razor-sharp blazers and oversized trenches that seemed to make haste down the runway. The House's signature uniform coded neutral tones dominated the palette; creamy whites, sandy beiges, deep blacks were interrupted by soft metallics and pastels. Coats and jackets made of leather, brown suede, and wool took centre stage, as Mrs. Prada once again emphasised her love for layering. After all, if you’re going to face the cold in a sweater, it might as well be Prada. Each piece was distinct, no two alike, with styling choices that felt almost otherworldly – like pairing a neon orange parka over a protruding feathered black dress with grey stockings. These unexpected combinations created a fresh flavour, never seen before but utterly captivating.

The accessories, most effervescently, the brogue espadrilles from their Spring/Summer 2012 collection have returned. And not just returns, but inventions were brought on the Prada runway. For the first time was their array of futuristic sunglasses; some embedded in extra elongated wicked bucket hats, others formed as large bug-eyes, and even metallic strips with coloured lenses. Sleek, structured handbags and low-heeled shoes added an edge.

It’s Prada at its most refined. The silhouettes felt familiar, but with a twist that made you look twice. A reimagining of the past, but with eyes fixed firmly on the future. This was fashion as meditation – calm, confident, and quietly groundbreaking. Prada proved once again that it’s always one step ahead, shaping the narrative of what modern minimalism can be.

The collection felt like a meditation on personal identity in an era of both infinite possibility and algorithmic restraint. Each piece, from tailored coats to futuristic sunglasses, seemed to push boundaries while grounding itself in the familiar. As the models disappeared behind the Fondazione Prada walls, it was clear that Prada had once again redefined what it means to be modern.