Raf Simons asserts that any concept—whether loved, hated, silly, funny, sad, stupid, or political—can serve as a starting point. This season, their muse was an unexpected one: the bow.

The runway debut featured a black shift dress adorned with dozens of bows. Subsequent iterations followed, including baby pink and deep purple versions. The bows appeared not only at the front but also graced the backs of skirts, juxtaposing sturdy tweed with embroidered silk. 

The collection played with distinct front-to-back designs, creating an intriguing tension.

Prada, known for her seriousness, avoids the frivolous. Yet, was there a political undertone to this reclamation project? Backstage, amidst the hustle, the designers discussed romance, love, emotion, and history. Prada emphasized that history shapes everything, especially during challenging times. This collection isn’t about nostalgia; it’s about deep understanding.

Bows have sparked online debates, fueled by their prevalence in recent fashion seasons. 

The TikTok generation has embraced them as a girlish symbol, a way to cling to youth and defy adult responsibilities. In a candid moment, Prada mused, “Every morning, I decide whether I’m a 15-year-old girl or an old lady.

When the present feels daunting and ominous, and the future outlook even bleaker, the past resurfaces for everyone. But it wasn’t just bows that Prada and Simons toyed with. 

Their canvas included:

Letterman jackets adorned with “P” patches on the chest, and the year of Prada’s founding, 1913, stitched on the arms.

Sweater girl twinsets—mismatched colors—paired with knee- and midi-length skirts. These skirts, despite their geometric seamed construction, defied primness and exuded a swan-like elegance.

Vintage-look slips with delicate scrollwork trimming their hems and seams.

The models carried their bags suspended from mini-belts, cradling them in the crooks of their arms—an old-fashioned gesture in this age of clutched iPhones. And if that seemed nostalgic, behold the 1950s couture-inspired cocktail dresses that closed the show. Crafted from indestructible technical high-performance fabric, these dresses, along with matching gloves, exemplified Prada and Simons’s knack for transforming familiar, even banal, tropes into fresh, desirable pieces. There was something subtly political about that fabric—just the touch I crave from Prada—and it felt perfectly attuned to this moment.