Why the Fashion Marriage of Raf Simons and Miuccia Prada Is Groundbreaking
There’s a new fashion marriage at hand so full of heady, dizzying possibilities that it single-handedly cut through the noise of a Milan Fashion Week throttled by the Coronavirus. Even as Giorgio Armani essentially cancelled his show and the airport almost shut down, people were whispering through their face masks to talk about Miuccia and Raf. Prada and Simons, respectively, together as co-creative directors of Prada. An unprecedented match. A head-scratcher that makes total sense on one level and absolutely none on the other.
Prada announced on Sunday that she had hired Simons as co-creative director of the family house that she has steered to icon status as an uncompromising creative force.
They have history. It was Prada and her husband Patrizio Bertelli who hired Simons to design Jil Sander when it was part of the Prada Group, giving him his first foray into women’s wear. He mastered the house, and made it his own with his steadfast vision.
He left Jil Sander in the end when the house’s namesake designer was brought back in. He moved onward and upward, to Dior, then Calvin Klein—two incredibly high-profile mega-gigs, neither of which ended well for him. He left Dior dissatisfied with the restrictions on his role, limited to creative direction of one of the most hallowed women’s ready-to-wear and couture collections in fashion history. He wanted more.
At Calvin Klein he was given the keys to an iconic American castle. Full control over everything: Runway, stores, jeans, underwear, campaigns—everything. It ended in scorched earth with Manny Chirico, the chief executive of Calvin Klein, publicly flogging Simons and his vision for the company. Calvin Klein ultimately decided shelve the runway collection entirely and not replace Simons at all.
At Prada, the plan that’s been disclosed is a true creative collaboration among equals. This could result in disaster or it could be a beautiful thing. It’s hard to imagine two people who are used to being top dog ceding to another. Some are saying Prada is putting a succession plan in place, that’s she’s eyeing retirement.
But Miuccia Prada is still at the top of her game, putting out one brilliant collection after the next with hardly a plateau. It’s impossible to predict how the Prada/Simons union will go, but it could change the way the fashion system operates forever.
Now, what will it mean for your closet?
One thing is certain: It will not be boring. Prada and Simons share an intellectual approach to fashion design and a way to make it wearable if not commercial. They are both known for manipulating the ugly into something beautiful, for esoteric art references, for drawing on politics, music and pop and youth culture. It’s resulted in banana prints, coats with giant faces on them, romantic knits, techno colors and beyond. Whatever their creative partnership yields, if well received, it will be highly influential.
Mark your calendars for September, when their first joint collection is presented in Milan.
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