When Prada presented its men’s clothing collection in the spring and summer of ’22 at Milan Men’s Fashion Week last year, it took a bit of getting used to the silhouettes. Using a hybrid show-track format live (red, futuristic) along with a video of the model walking from the runway straight to the sandy, sunny beach, the settings matched the collection’s styling: a sleek, black leather lace-up dress with the shortest swimsuits that look like shorts and some accessories that are very suitable for the holidays, such as hats and new sunglasses.
For its spring-summer ’23 men’s clothing collection, which was shown on Sunday during Milan Men’s Fashion Week, the Italian fashion brand has taken a similar path. The shorts were still very short; the shoes were still black leather and well-groomed. But in detail, Prada sought to prove that this new, bold silhouette of menswear can have durability with a few nuanced adjustments.
The shorts were still there, often made of more extreme black leather, some with a rolled-up cuff. But instead of separate swim-ready separations, co-creative directors Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons instead added more casual-professional options, such as striped knit dolcens and short sleeves and strong coats, along with a distinctive piece of the collection: a Jingham print coat with antique , box cut. Bright primary colors, as seen in Prada’s men’s fall ’22 collection, were intertwined in looks, and the brand’s best-selling black suit series also sent a message that everything goes, from conservative to those riskier shorts.
On foot, black leather boots on a Cuban heel with a western silhouette dominated the runway, giving the same blend of shoes or boots and the shocking hem seen for the spring of ’22. But paired with a strange djembal coat, the effect was less inappropriate, more something you wouldn’t be shocked to see on a city street in the late spring of next year.
Prada men’s collection spring summer ’23 at Milan Men’s Fashion Week, with an emphasis on black leather Cuban boots with a western-shaped heel. CREDIT: Courtesy of Prada
It has noticeably disappeared from the Prada platform footwear collection – which it recently featured in both men’s and women’s collections – along with its popular wide chunky sole. One can bet that it will be available in the commercial offer for some time to come.
