Prada Fun House: Raf Simons & the Writing on the Wall
Guest writer Trapetas does a review of Prada's Spring Summer 2025 Menswear Collection.
Raf Simons and Miuccia Prada have been co-directors of Prada since the dawn of the new decade. Fashion critics situated the Prada brand “somewhere between the real and the life of the imagination.” The Prada Spring/Summer 2025 Menswear Show lived up to this reputation.
The captivating show, which took place this past Sunday, placed gorgeous male models at the forefront of the imagination. There was a juxtaposition between the vibrant collection and the muted scenery. The architecture and interior design played a significant role in setting the scene, capturing the audience's attention with its monochromatic, brutalist undertones.
As the show began, onlookers quickly realized that the collection was anything but muted. Models navigated a set resembling a two-dimensional clubhouse with a ramp wrapped around the star-studded audience. Ominous music, accompanied by live cricket noises, enhanced the wilderness aesthetic.
Before anything else, Prada and Simons created an “imagined” world of opulent campers and treehouse dwellers emerging from a playhouse.
In his now-defunct namesake brand, Simons gained renown for his whimsical graphic tees, vibrant contrasting colors, playful patterns, and distinctive stripes.
Here is how the Prada Spring/Summer 2025 Menswear Collection showcased deep archival relevance from the Raf Simons brand.
Raf Simons Spring 2017 Menswear Collection
Simons's co-created Prada Spring/Summer 2025 Menswear collection bore an uncanny resemblance to his own Raf Simons Spring 2017 Menswear collection, where he collaborated with the renowned photographer Robert Mapplethorpe.
Raf Simons, reflecting on the influence of the renowned artist Mapplethorpe on his 2017 show, said, "I couldn’t help but align this with Mapplethorpe’s fascination with frames, giving his imagery a three-dimensional element and a sculptural quality by framing and matting in plush velvet and exotic wood, attaching imagery to objects. It made his photographs more than they first appeared."
Prada released a statement on the Spring/Summer 2025 Menswear show explaining that the collection was also influenced by the “power of reality,” offering a dialogue on what’s real versus the unreal. The collection contrasted distance against closeness to transform perception.
Raf Simons did not venture far from his archives to find inspiration for the Prada show. Several styled looks distinctly reflected inspiration from Simons's 2017 show compared to his 2025 Prada collection.
For instance, looks 16, 17, 20, 21, 26, 31, and 50 illuminated the 2017 Raf Simons wardrobe of striking images, stripe shirts, and graphic tees.
Followers of the beloved Raf Simons who tuned in for this brilliant Prada show likely couldn't help but notice the nostalgic feeling that washed over them, as the show bore a striking resemblance to the vintage show from seven years ago.
Adidas X Raf Simons Spring – Summer 2014 Footwear
Moreover, in the summer of 2014, the powerhouse German footwear and apparel company Adidas dropped their Spring/Summer footwear collaboration in collaboration with Raf Simons' eponymous brand. Raf Simons built a reputation as a luxury footwear designer, especially with his ten-year collaboration with Adidas.
Prada’s Spring/Summer 2025 show also exhibited a striking resemblance to the colorways of the iconic Adidas collaboration. Sneaker journalist Ross Dwyer explained, “What’s most interesting about Raf Simons’ sneaker collaboration is how ahead of his time he was.”
Those breakthrough designs were evident in the Prada show, where looks 39, 40, 49, 50, 51, and 52 featured familiar colorways and themes reminiscent of Raf Simons's footwear collections, such as the Adidas x Raf Simons Spring/Summer 2014 Super Trekker Boot available in three multicolor silhouettes, alongside the runway Adidas Super Trekker Raf Simons Multicolor Mens Sneaker.
In conclusion, the writing on the wall was clear. Raf Simons as a brand may be gone, but this Prada Menswear show underscored that his influence is enduring and unforgettable. In case Raf Simons was wondering, yes, we miss you too.
Edited by Amarissa, Founder & Editor in Chief of Fashion Talk.
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