Raf Simons to join Prada as co-creative director with Miuccia

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Feb 23, 2020

After creative director roles at Dior and Calvin Klein, Raf Simons is adding another of fashion’s global leaders to his impressive CV. He’s to become co-creative director of Prada.

This is a huge step both for the designer and Prada itself, which has always been helmed creatively by Miuccia Prada.

But the company said on Sunday that from April, he’ll work in partnership with Miuccia Prada, “with equal responsibilities for creative input and decision-making”.

The first collection designed by the creative powerhouse duo will be for the Spring/Summer 2021 womenswear show that will be presented in Milan in September. 

So what’s the thinking behind this move? “This partnership, encompassing all creative facets of the Prada label, is born from a deep reciprocal respect and from an open conversation — it is a mutual decision, proposed and determined by both parties,” the company said. 

“It opens a new dialogue, between designers widely acknowledged as two of the most important and influential of today. Conceptually, it is also a new approach to the very definition of creative direction for a fashion brand — a strong challenge to the idea of singularity of creative authorship, whilst also a bold reinforcement of the importance and power of creativity in a shifting cultural landscape. As times change, so should creativity.”

And we’re told that “the synergy of this partnership is far-reaching. It is a reaction to the era in which we live — an epoch with fresh possibilities, permitting a different point of view and approach to established methodologies. It can also be seen as the first step towards broader scopes of interaction — an initiation of free exchange and collaboration, a questioning of creative conventions”.

But the company emphasised that “the distinct values and ethos of the Prada brand remain unchanged: this radical creative dialogue, indeed, is a reiteration of the philosophies of both Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons. It is perfectly in tune with each designer’s individual history of reinvention, provocation, brave exploration and the power of ideas - now, brought together”.