June 30th 2022 – By Promostyl
INTRODUCTION TO COLLECTIVE CREATION 2 :
MIUCCIA PRADA & RAF SIMONS, RECIPE TO A PERFECT COLLABORATION
As we mentioned last week, collaborative work in fashion is now one of the smartest ways to fully bring your vision to light (if you have no clue what we’re talking about, take a look at last week’s article). While it is obviously established with the up and comers, partnering or building collectives for the sake of creation and not for the sake of profit are a little more rare when it comes to more established brands. That is probably what makes the case of Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons so fascinating.
After shaking the entire fashion world by announcing that Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons we’ll now be equal creative directors at Prada, everyone was holding their breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop. It seems like we’ll be waiting a long time as the duo has made the brand even bigger than it already was, all while maintaining the well established popularity and strength of Raf Simons’ own brand which begs the question : how do they do it ?
Originally, Miuccia Prada was not into collaborations with anyone as she had trouble seeing herself finding someone who lit her creative spark and would actually make telling a story the priority in working together. That is what she found in long time friend Raf Simons when they decided to join forces.
As their individual creative process already was quite similar, they clicked very quickly. When asked about the way they work together, Prada says “it all starts with a conversation.”. They learn from what worked and make it evolve by blending their visions on those positive results. Above that, they share a lot about their vision of the world, what they see, which direction they feel it’s going... That being said, just because it’s easy and natural doesn’t mean the agreement is immediate but according to the designers it is what makes it so interesting : “At first you hate something then you try to understand why” says Prada and the discussion continues until they can find a common ground merging into something great ! A perfect example of that would be the new Prada classic born from that collaboration : a A-line skirt combining Prada’s elegance and Simons’ sculptured silhouettes.
The strength and efficiency of the Prada-Simons alliance also comes from a place of mutual admiration and adoration of the other’s work as Raf mainly wore Prada’s product in the beginning of his career, and Miuccia and her husband trusted Simons with the creative direction of Jil Sander in 2005 !
The result : a Prada that screams must haves ! While slightly more minimalist, it gains in construction and returns to classic shapes with classic fabrics as seen during their latest show.
And there you have it ! The recipe for success when joining forces with a big brand is communication, a similar vision and most importantly respect for each other’s approach to the craft.