This season at Prada, we returned to the Deposito of the Fondazione Prada and the deconstructed house set we saw for the menswear show a few weeks ago. Back then, Raf and Muccia were thinking about the difficulty of even thinking about fashion with the state the world is currently in. They conveyed this through clothes that were uncomfortable, that were actively moulding and worn. For the womenswear offering, they furthered these ideas.

For the first look, the scarf was a reference to the Pride flag, Raf revealed backstage. They also mused on what the threat of AI means for fashion, which was a brave move considering the most prominent face on the front row was Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg. However, that was the end of anything overly political from the duo this season. Instead, they wanted the collection itself to sing, and it did.

The name of the collection was Inside Prada, and it was really all about layering and how women actually wear clothes. This was best conveyed by the fact that there were sixty looks overall, but only fifteen models walked. This was intended to convey the numerous outfit changes and alterations that women make throughout the day, how clothing should be able to fit the occasion no matter what. 

With this theme of layering upon layering, many of the looks were concealing surprises. One, a classic trench distressed to appear worn, concealed a high collar and a trail of fur lining the zip, as if the model were smuggling some creature beneath her coat. Elsewhere, archival dresses were unzipped to reveal further strata beneath, while others were thrown over heavy wools, building texture upon texture. The result was that each model was wearing at least four layers at any time.

Suddenly, the setting made total sense. Much like the clothing, the layers of the ages were worn on these walls. The mix-match of histories matched the purposeful worn-ness of the coats, the faux-alterations and the peeling patinas. Past and present coexisted, collapsed into one another. It brought to mind Laurie Anderson, her voice all modulated, chanting over and over: “This is the time. And this is the record of the time.”