Prada Reworks Winter Classics at Milan Fashion Week

FILE PHOTO: The Prada store is shown in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, January 17, 2020. REUTERS/ Mike Blake/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The Prada store is shown in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, January 17, 2020. REUTERS/ Mike Blake/File Photo
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Prada Reworks Winter Classics at Milan Fashion Week

FILE PHOTO: The Prada store is shown in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, January 17, 2020. REUTERS/ Mike Blake/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The Prada store is shown in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, January 17, 2020. REUTERS/ Mike Blake/File Photo

Italian fashion house Prada reworked wardrobe classics for its fall line at Milan Fashion Week on Thursday, with designers Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons saying they were inspired by the idea of change and transformation.

In a video shared online as part of a virtual Milan Fashion Week, models strutted in layered outfits in an array of prints and colors as part of the autumn/winter 2021-2022 collection.

Prada and Simons, who joined the brand as co-creative director last year, presented tight jacquard-knit bodysuits in mixed prints, which were made to appear as second skin.

Navy and grey pinstripe suits were reimagined as jackets with short scrunched sleeves worn with matching skirts with slits or ankle-length trousers.

Models, who walked between rooms with marble or fake fur floors, wore coats in bright colors, adorned in sparkling paillettes or with exaggerated sleeves, Reuters reported.

Outerwear included wraps in fake fur, re-nylon and sequins, and large loose bomber jackets. Dresses were loose and in mainly dark colors.

For the evening there were black jumpsuits and long black dresses with printed collars. Colorful gloves had small zip purses on the front.

“In this collection we play with the idea of the classic - we subvert it, we transmutate it,” Prada said in a statement.

“There are many more contrasts in this collection - retro and futuristic, embellished and minimal, sports and elegance - because we are combining them, hybridizing them, creating something that seems new,” Simons added.

Milan Fashion Week, which began on Wednesday and runs until March 1, is a virtual event this season due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Major Italian fashion names such as Giorgio Armani, Dolce & Gabbana and Valentino are sharing videos on a digital platform.



Ralph Lauren’s Fall 2026 Collection a Mix of Romantic Adventure with Metallic Flair 

A model walks the runway during the Ralph Lauren Fall 2026 Collection fashion show in New York, on February 10, 2026. (AFP)
A model walks the runway during the Ralph Lauren Fall 2026 Collection fashion show in New York, on February 10, 2026. (AFP)
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Ralph Lauren’s Fall 2026 Collection a Mix of Romantic Adventure with Metallic Flair 

A model walks the runway during the Ralph Lauren Fall 2026 Collection fashion show in New York, on February 10, 2026. (AFP)
A model walks the runway during the Ralph Lauren Fall 2026 Collection fashion show in New York, on February 10, 2026. (AFP)

With more than 50 years in fashion, Ralph Lauren is still looking for adventure. Lauren took his celebrity guests on an adventure into the English countryside Tuesday for his fall 2026 runway show.

Set amid the beaux arts architecture of the Clock Tower building in Manhattan, Lauren delivered a stylish take on softness and strength, pairing luxurious earth-toned rich fabrics with metallic detailing for his latest collection.

Lauren’s ethereal models with their hair flowing behind them strutted on opulent rugs as celebrity guests including actor Anne Hathaway, singer Lana Del Rey and actor Lili Reinhart looked on from antique style chairs; a romantic painted landscape canvas filled the walls surrounding them.

In his show notes, Lauren described his muse as a woman whose style is not defined by time.

“I love the adventure of fashion,” Ralph Lauren wrote, adding his fall collection “is inspired by that kind of renegade spirit and the confidence of the woman who will wear it in her own personal way — to tell her own story.”

The 86-year-old designer has never been one to follow trends but drive them. At Tuesday’s show, accessories added a modern flair from leather gloves paired with a knit off-the-shoulder dress to shimmering silver detailing.

Supermodel Gigi Hadid opened the show in a wool corseted top and maxi skirt accentuated with a silver waist chain. Other models walked the runway with silver belt chains and metallic brooches that stood in an edgy contrast to Lauren’s romantic Victorian tops and tailored jackets. Lauren pinned metallic glimmering brooches to lush wool cloaks that were elegantly draped over models’ shoulders in a show of strength.

In a modern twist on Joan of Arc, Lauren designed a chain mail top that delicately peeked out from underneath one model’s tweed jacket. Lauren complemented the look with a printed scarf and leather pants.

“There were several looks that had this beautiful chain mail kind of detailing,” actor Ariana DeBose told The Associated Press. “What a way to give a woman beautiful armor.”

Even with his contemporary additions, Lauren’s collection still included his signature touches from his riding boots, exquisite tailoring and elegant high neck blouses.

Lauren’s brand is an American staple that continues to prevail in an ever-changing industry. As part of his enduring legacy, Lauren was once again tapped to design the uniforms for Team USA at the Olympic Winter Games in Milan, marking his sixth time designing for the games.

“From being in Italy with the greatest athletes in the world and then coming here to New York City to put on a fashion show that’s so elegant, it’s two different sides of Ralph Lauren and two different sides of what an American company can do to reach the world,” David Lauren, the company's chief branding and innovation officer, said.


Kering’s Fourth-Quarter Sales Fall Less Than Expected as Gucci Slide Continues

The logo of French luxury group Kering is seen at Kering headquarters in Paris, France, February 13, 2023. (Reuters)
The logo of French luxury group Kering is seen at Kering headquarters in Paris, France, February 13, 2023. (Reuters)
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Kering’s Fourth-Quarter Sales Fall Less Than Expected as Gucci Slide Continues

The logo of French luxury group Kering is seen at Kering headquarters in Paris, France, February 13, 2023. (Reuters)
The logo of French luxury group Kering is seen at Kering headquarters in Paris, France, February 13, 2023. (Reuters)

Kering reported on Tuesday a slightly smaller-than-expected drop in fourth-quarter sales, as investors await details of CEO Luca de Meo's plans ​to revive the Gucci owner's flagging fortunes.

Sales reached 3.9 billion euros ($4.64 billion), down 3% from the previous year when adjusted for currency swings. That beat analysts' consensus forecast for a 5% drop, according to Visible Alpha.

The revenue drop was 10% at Italian flagship label Gucci, which accounts for most of Kering's profits, versus analyst expectations of a 12% decline.

It ‌was the brand's ‌10th straight quarter of revenue ‌decline.

Finance ⁠Chief ​Armelle ‌Poulou told journalists Gucci saw some improvement at the end of last year in "almost all regions", helped by newly introduced products and handbag sales.

Grappling with weak sales since the maximalist styles of Gucci's former star designer Alessandro Michele fell out of fashion in 2022, Kering has faced heightened investor scrutiny over its high ⁠debt and declining profitability.

Free cash from operations fell by 35% last year ‌when excluding one-off payments from real estate ‍sales, reaching 2.3 billion euros, Kering ‍said.

"For Kering, it's really about (restoring) the broad desirability globally," said ‍JPMorgan analyst Chiara Battistini.

Facing an uncertain business outlook, the group, which also owns Gucci Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta and Yves Saint Laurent, further reduced its store network by 75 boutiques with further closures planned, Poulou said.

The ​earnings underscored the steep challenges Kering faces to catch up with peers even though its shares have ⁠risen around 50% since de Meo's appointment was announced last June.

"2025 did not reflect Kering's true potential or the strength of our brands, but it enabled us to lay the foundations for our future recovery," said Poulou.

Kering's annual operating income reached 1.63 billion euros, less than a third of its 2022 level. Kering's operating profit margin fell to 11% group-wide and 16% at Gucci, down from 28% and 36% three years earlier.

By contrast, LVMH delivered a 22% margin last year amid ‌a broader luxury slowdown, with its leather and fashion division - home to Louis Vuitton and Dior - hitting 35%.


Pieter Mulier Named Creative Director of Versace

(FILES) Pieter Mulier attends the 2025 CFDA Awards at The American Museum of Natural History on November 03, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
(FILES) Pieter Mulier attends the 2025 CFDA Awards at The American Museum of Natural History on November 03, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
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Pieter Mulier Named Creative Director of Versace

(FILES) Pieter Mulier attends the 2025 CFDA Awards at The American Museum of Natural History on November 03, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
(FILES) Pieter Mulier attends the 2025 CFDA Awards at The American Museum of Natural History on November 03, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)

Belgian fashion designer Pieter Mulier has been named the new creative director of the Milan fashion house Versace starting July 1, according to an announcement on Thursday from the Prada Group, which owns Versace.

Mulier is currently creative director of the French fashion house Alaïa, and was previously the right-hand man of fellow Belgian designer and Prada co-creative director Raf Simons at Calvin Klein, Jil Sander and Dior.

In his new role, Mulier will report to Versace executive chairman Lorenzo Bertelli, the designated successor to manage the family-run Prada Group. Bertelli is the son of Miuccia Prada and Prada Group chairman Patrizio Bertelli.

“We believe that he can truly unlock Versace’s full potential and that he will be able to engage in a fruitful dialogue,’’ The Associated Press quoted Lorenzo Bertelli as saying of Mulier in a statement.

Mulier takes over from Dario Vitale, who departed in December after previewing just one collection during his short-lived Versace stint.

Mulier was honored last fall by supermodel and longtime Alaïa muse Naomi Campbell at the Council of Fashion Designers of America for his work paying tribute to brand founder Azzedine Alaïa. Mulier took the creative helm in 2021, after Alaïa’s death.