Prada Plays With Contrasts at Milan Fashion Week Show

Models present creations from the Prada Spring/Summer 2023 collection during Milan Fashion Week in Milan, Italy, September 22, 2022. REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo
Models present creations from the Prada Spring/Summer 2023 collection during Milan Fashion Week in Milan, Italy, September 22, 2022. REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo
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Prada Plays With Contrasts at Milan Fashion Week Show

Models present creations from the Prada Spring/Summer 2023 collection during Milan Fashion Week in Milan, Italy, September 22, 2022. REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo
Models present creations from the Prada Spring/Summer 2023 collection during Milan Fashion Week in Milan, Italy, September 22, 2022. REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo

Simplicity and contrasts were the main themes at the Prada catwalk show in Milan on Thursday, with the Italian luxury label stripping off "unnecessary complication" in its latest womenswear collection.

Designers Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons opened the Spring/Summer 2023 show with sharp grey looks including pointy-collared shirts, slim-fit trousers and a jumpsuit.

Reinforcing the idea of simplicity were sleeveless dresses made with a paper base fabric. The frocks bore slits at the front, creases and folds.

"The clothes are about simplicity, with no unnecessary complication," Miuccia Prada said in a statement, Reuters reported.

"There is no complicated structure, nothing unnecessary. No nonsense - the rawness, the crudeness represents absolute simplicity. We wanted to do something with the most simple, modest material - with paper. Then we used this system of reduction and simplicity as a means of making beauty."

Outerwear consisted of light opera coats and black leather jackets. Some coats had large bows at the back.

Last season's sheer looks continued at Thursday's show, with models wearing transparent tops and skirts.

The designers, who worked with film director Nicolas Winding Refn for the show, stuck to a minimalist color palette of grey, white, black with bursts of bright lime, orange and red occasionally appearing on tops, handbags or shoes.

Milan Fashion Week runs until Sept. 26 with the likes of heavyweights Gucci, Versace, Dolce & Gabbana and Giorgio Armani among those presenting their latest creations.



Italian Shoemaker Geox to Invest $125 Million in 5-year Plan

FILE PHOTO: Geox shoes are seen in a shop in Rome, Italy, April 10, 2016. REUTERS/Max Rossi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Geox shoes are seen in a shop in Rome, Italy, April 10, 2016. REUTERS/Max Rossi/File Photo
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Italian Shoemaker Geox to Invest $125 Million in 5-year Plan

FILE PHOTO: Geox shoes are seen in a shop in Rome, Italy, April 10, 2016. REUTERS/Max Rossi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Geox shoes are seen in a shop in Rome, Italy, April 10, 2016. REUTERS/Max Rossi/File Photo

Italian shoemaker Geox plans to invest about 120 million euros ($125 million) as part of an industrial plan to 2029 and has signed a five-year deal with a leading Chinese operator to expand its presence in the country.

The maker of breathable, waterproof footwear said in November it would end direct operations in the unprofitable Chinese and US markets after posting a 9.7% yearly drop in nine-month revenue globally, Reuters reported. It said it would continue its business in the two countries through local partnerships.

In addition to the investments, announced in a statement late on Monday, the group said it would extend by 24 months the medium- to long-term debt repayment plans as part of a debt refinancing agreement with creditor banks including Monte dei Paschi and the Italian units of BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole.
Geox controlling shareholder LIR, the family holding of its chairman and founder Mario Moretti Polegato, will contribute up to 60 million euros to the industrial plan, the statement said.
The shoemaker expects yearly revenues above 850 million euros by 2029, compared with 720 million in 2023, with compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5% in the next five years, and an EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) margin over 7% by 2029.