Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons gave an entire collection to the skirt, and nine in ten looks wore one. This is how the skirts were built, what went on top and how to wear the idea.
Prada Spring 2027: Skirts for People Who Think a Lot About Their Skirts
The skirt as a T-shirt
In 2006 Miuccia Prada told Ingrid Sischy on Charlie Rose that "the skirt for me is like a T-shirt," a uniform you can dress up or down, and that it can be eccentric without changing you very much because it is waist down. Around the same time, an exhibition called Waist Down toured Prada skirts made between 1998 and 2004, starting in Shanghai.
Twenty years later she and Raf Simons gave the entire spring collection to skirts: knee-length and mini, A-line and pleated, plain and embroidered. I think it is the most direct Prada show in years, and I mean that as praise. Nine in ten looks wear a skirt, and the rest feel like they are only missing one.
Common garments, uncommon thought
Prada and Simons have been looking at ordinary clothes for a few seasons. At the men's show it was the five-pocket jean, and Simons, who said he had not worn denim in twenty years, was wearing jeans backstage. He talked about how "people can be individual with common garments." This show pushes that further. Prada called the skirt a canvas, and you can see why.
A whole run of skirts are basic wraps held with wide bands of Velcro, only the Velcro is embroidered with crystals. Others are trimmed with ribbons and bows or encased in crinoline. Some look like abstract paintings. These are skirts for people who think a lot about their skirts, and I am one of them.
Fake leather, real bras
They played with fabric too. A leather that is not leather at all but coated cotton, and techy latex that shows flashes of the models' briefs. Shiny black nylon overskirts sit over girlish florals and plaids. On top there are a lot of novelty bras, each smaller than the last, and about half the looks use a bra or bandeau as the top.
Nothing looks more right now than a bra standing in for a top, though someone pointed out that Miu Miu did a show of bralettes and skirts in 1995. About a fifth of the looks have a leather-look jacket, vest or dress, and a quarter wear sunglasses.
How I would wear it
More than half the looks carry a bag, which keeps it feeling like a real wardrobe. Prada herself wore a simple crewneck over a scallop-hem silk slip, and honestly that is the best styling advice in the room. Take one skirt you love, put a plain sweater or a shirt on top, and let the skirt do the talking. It is a show that makes you want to go and buy one good skirt, and I cannot think of a better outcome for a runway.
