Like every season, Prada’s AW26 men’s show was held in the label’s imposing Fondazione Prada, a contemporary art gallery housed inside an old gin distillery. Walking into this season’s show space, however, we were transported to what looked like a huge stately home, but gutted to reveal its bare bones. Covering the walls from top to bottom were the remnants of three stories of a building, but with the floors removed and crumbling debris left in their place. Because of this, doors, chimneys and fireplaces floated above guests’ heads on the walls, creating an uncanny feeling of disorientation as they walked around the room.

As ever, the brand gathered an impressive front row. Damson Idris, Nicholas Hoult, Troye Sivan, Aespa Karina, Metawin and Jack Harlow all showed up to support creative directors Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons. “It was one of my favourites ever,” Troye Sivan told Dazed, “so gaggy!”. 

While some designers zoom in on one specific person, time or place as inspiration for their shows, Prada consistently delivers a medley of references – blending nostalgic silhouettes with the digital era, taking elements of the past to create something futuristic. Titled Before and Next, the show paid homage to decades gone by, while making a solid case for the trends of tomorrow. “What can we build from what we have learned?” read the show notes, “To remember is a sign of respect.”

Known for its sharp tailoring, Prada took clean lines and slim silhouettes to a whole new level this season, elongating the body with a series of extra-long double-breasted suits that looked straight out of a 1920s gangster movie. Dramatic, colourful cuffs burst out of sleeves, concealing the models hands altogether and adding that playful Prada flourish. “We wanted to focus on important things, beautiful things that feel familiar but can be reconsidered,” said Simons of the pair’s design strategy. “Everything you see, you know. But the result you don’t.”

Throughout the collection, hats were the star of the show, appearing in various styles, shapes and colours: there were fisherman-style bucket hats, deconstructed bakerboy hats, and even a Prada-fied trilby. But as they said in show notes, the design duo flipped the familiar by attaching some hats to the back of mini ponchos and overcoats to create hat-coat hybrids, which will no doubt be popular. Accents of femininity were also carried throughout, seen in the soft pastel tones, knitted vests and cinched, strawberry-coloured trench coats. Elsewhere, garments were intentionally stained or decaying, which made sense given the collection was all about the temporal journey from ‘before’ to ‘next’.

With the menswear shows now in full swing (and couture and womenswear just around the corner), fashion season is well and truly upon us. For those of us still accidentally writing 2025 instead of 2026, Prada delivered a gentle start to the fashion calendar, easing us in with a playful yet elegant reimagining of the past.

Scroll through the gallery at the top of the page to see the AW26 looks