Prada took the underwear-as-outerwear trend to new extremes at Milan Fashion Week, sending models down the runway with bras worn as tops – and even carried as handbags.
Emilia Clarke and Uma Thurman were among the stars watching the Italian fashion house’s spring/summer 2027 show, where one model wore a grey bandeau-style top with a matching bra-shaped bag hanging from her upper arm.
The Game of Thrones actress and Kill Bill star joined Naomi Watts, Stranger Things actress Sadie Sink, British actress Naomi Ackie, Alexa Chung and social media personality Nara Smith for the show.
Designers Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons received a standing ovation when they emerged to take their bow, while the runway was awash with photography from the audience.
Prada helped kick off Milan Fashion Week in the Deposito at Fondazione Prada, the contemporary art institution established by the designer and her husband, Patrizio Bertelli.
White lights glared up through the runway floor, with guests perched on transparent Perspex benches. It was an unforgiving, starkly bright setting for a collection which showcased models looking as though they’d gotten ready in a rush.
The first model appeared in a black lace bralette and a vibrant red skirt, worn so low that it exposed almost her entire stomach.
A white bandeau followed, paired with a thigh-high split skirt, while another model wore a black bra with a pleated skirt and a bright green handbag, as though she had remembered her accessories but forgotten her top.
Underwear as outerwear has been gathering momentum across the spring/summer 2027 shows, with bras appearing over shirts and beneath sheer blouses at Erdem, Simone Rocha and Burberry. Prada took the idea further, dispensing with the blouse altogether in several looks.
There was plenty of exposed midriff, but little of the body-conscious styling usually associated with the Noughties trend.
The skirts appeared to be a size too big, slipping towards the hips rather than sitting neatly at the waist where expected. Sleeveless knits hung loosely from the shoulders and oversized jackets dwarfed the dresses beneath them.
The hair only exemplified the styling, as some models wore it loose and frizzy, while others had their hair pulled back into a relaxed bun or ponytail. One model appeared with an enormous halo of blonde hair around a pair of mirrored sunglasses with only half the frame on.
The handbags were on the more conventional side, as Prada introduced slim, structured shoulder bags with long straps, dangling beside the models or slung over their shoulders, appearing in black leather, emerald green and snakeskin finishes.
They were a departure from the enormous totes seen in recent seasons, but still substantial enough to hold more than a phone and a lipstick.
The other major motif was the return of business casual, although few of these outfits would pass an office dress code.
Knee-length skirts, sleeveless V-neck knits and tailored jackets appeared throughout the collection, but were often missing the pieces that would ordinarily make them suitable for work.
An oversized jacket was worn open over an exposed bra, open shirts were tucked into midi skirts – or tops were forgone all together.
It was almost as though Prada and Simons had taken the familiar Coco Chanel adage; “Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off”; but opted to remove a shirt instead of jewellery.
Not everything was deliberately dishevelled. A sharp lime-green leather jacket and matching pleated skirt, both edged in black, offered a more coordinated look, while another model wore a green-and-black swirling print skirt with a bandeau and dark sunglasses.
The contrast between masculine and feminine garments was particularly noticeable as the show moved into eveningwear.
Heavy leather jackets were thrown over delicate mini dresses, while evening skirts covered in sparkling floral appliqué were paired with open camisoles revealing bras.
Pale blue and baby pink organza brought a softer note to the collection, while royal purple and green appeared on bags and other accessories – colours also seen throughout Edeline Lee’s London Fashion Week collection.
Pointed kitten heels and peep-toe shoes completed the looks, adding another early-2010s reference to a collection already full of Noughties styling.
Prada has never been particularly interested in making women look conventionally pretty, as Miuccia Prada’s fondness for what she has called “ugly” fashion has produced some of the industry’s most influential collections, often by taking clothes that appear awkward or unflattering and making them desirable.
This season, she and Simons seemed to be questioning why women’s clothes are expected to fit perfectly, match neatly and give the impression that their wearer has made an effort.
The low-slung skirts, exposed bras and unruly hair were not an accident but a rejection of the idea that looking well dressed necessarily means looking finished or classically flawless at all.
