Raf Simons joining Prada in full creative collaboration
MILAN (AP) — Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons — two of the fashion world's biggest creative names — will collaborate on Prada collections from Spring/Summer 2021 going forward indefinitely, the designers announced Sunday at a news conference on the sidelines of Milan Fashion Week.
Prada, who has been the creative force behind one of luxury’s most successful brands for 30 years, said the new partnership didn't signal an eventual succession.
“Don’t make me older than I am,” the 70-year-old designer quipped.
Simons, 52, is considered one of the fashion world’s biggest talents, whose future has been the subject of intense speculation since he left Calvin Klein in 2018. He previously was creative director of Jil Sander and Dior, and also has his own eponymous label, which he said would continue.
Their first collaboration will appear on the September runway for Spring/Summer 2021.
“The contract in theory is forever,” Prada said.
“Maybe this is the first time in fashion history that two expert designers who had their own successes in this sector will work together,” said Patrizio Bertelli, the co-CEO of the Prada Group with his wife, Miuccia Prada.
The announcement came on a day when the new coronavirus was a growing concern around the fashion capital. Giorgio Armani took the unusual step to show his collection behind closed doors to an empty theater, streaming for the fashion public, as a precaution. The rest of the fashion shows scheduled for Sunday continued as planned. Later Sunday the number of confirmed cases in Italy rose to at least 152 and officials halted the Venice Carnival to try to stop the spread of the virus.
Prada said they went ahead with the announcement despite the growing emergency in Italy — where more cases of the COVID-19 virus...