This afternoon in Milan, Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons took to Fondazione Prada to present their fall 2026 womenswear collection. If you felt like you were seeing double, triple, or even quadruple, you were right. The brand employed a cast of 15 models who walked the runway in four looks each, every iteration a de-layered version of the last. A repeat walk is not uncommon in fashion, but the repetition in this case conveyed the reality of how women constantly adapt their dress.
We first saw small plates–ification on the runways at New York Fashion Week. However, it is now a full-blown trend.
The Prada designers explored our clothing’s transformation through the day and, as a result, a wardrobe’s multi-functionality. Layers were built and then discarded, offering a bountiful and realistic menu of styling options.
In one quadriptych, Bella Hadid began with a chore coat layered over a black organza skirt; in the second walk, the chore coat was removed to reveal an organza jacket, and the third unveiled the white printed dress underneath. Some brisk mornings you may overdress for the weather only to remember that your layers underneath will do.
Other times you may wear a blazer into the office, then leave it on the back of your chair while grabbing lunch with friends. Later you might go out to dinner with a knit scarf and not come home from the bar with it at all!
Prada and Simons’s offering of small plates hit the nail on the head. Dressing is an art, not a science, and they understand the flexible life that our clothes must live.
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