Prada presented its spring 2025 collection in Milan today, inside a room stripped back of its usual elaborate set design—opting instead for a series of benches covered in turquoise fabric. As usual, Mrs. Prada and Raf Simons had a completely new proposal for the new season with Atomic-age stylized nuclear masks, and an extra-slim silhouette that often-times traded pants and skirts for simple thick tights—worn with a belt; which all paraded through a winding maze set to a soundtrack that included Suicide’s “Rocket USA” and a Cibo Matto sample.
On the models’ feet, however, there were many surprises—and I’m not just talking about their playful take on the new Gen Z favorite shoe, the cowboy boot. The designers seem to have resurrected many of Prada’s most iconic pairs from the past. The flat leather criss-cross sandal from spring 1996’s nerd-chic collection, the striped heels with architectural details from fall 2008’s lace collection, the platform oxfords from the tropical electric spring 2011, and the dipped-in-rubber super-high Mary Janes from fall 2012.
Although it’s not the first time that the designers have referenced themselves—spring 2021 famously brought back the “ugly” geometric print also from spring 1996; it was still an unexpected surprise when contrasted with their leaning into an extreme, and possibly bleak, version of futurism.
