ON THE WAY TO “THE LAST SWIM”
Cobalt Pages attends the Prada SS26 Menswear show re-see

JUN 23 2025

Special thanks to Prada.

The Deposito is left bare with just flower rugs on the floor in shades of black, white, and baby blue. Sunlight from the windows forms glowing rectangles on the floor that slowly drift across the space.

Birdsong plays as the first model walks onto the runway. A white camp-collar shirt with a slightly faded sunrise illustration that appears hand-drawn, layered over a baby blue turtleneck, paired with elastic-hem bloomer-like very short shorts. The shorts came with snap pockets, as if designed for the bare minimum one carries while navigating through the summer heat.

The soundscape shifts from birdsong to waves, wind, or possibly the distant roar of trains passing. Intermitted fragments of different audio samples can be heard in between— a deliberate reference to the distinct sonic language of the KLF. The whooshing continues, abstract yet ambient, grounding the collection in a mood of drift and transition.

What followed was a simple, relaxed, pared-back, almost freeing approach. “Calm, nice, gentle”, in Miuccia Prada’s own words. Archetypal Prada pieces emerged in their purest form. The designers framed the collection as an act of stripping back. Prada at its most distilled. Clothes that made you wish you were wearing them in the Milan heat.

Between colorful driving shoes, open-toed leather oxfords and loafers, shoes you would see at the skatepark, raglan-shoulder bikers in shiny vinyl or crumpled leather, there were small acts of rebellion throughout the collection, giving it a spirit of both playfulness and subversion. It was playful, sharp, and a little ironic.

Leather rings — first slipped into guests’ hands as invitations — were also seen on the runway. These rings echoed the (amazing!) detailing on the leather jackets, while also enveloping the audience into the narrative of the show. The material, appearing both delicate and worn, carried the weight of adornment.

From badges featuring “LOVER’S LAKE”, “Peak’s End”, “TRAIL’s END” and “THE LAST SWIM”, to boatneck necklines, and glossy rattan hats with centrifugal fringe, leather sandals, and chartreuse flip-flops, the collection unfolded like a metropolitan daydream of the seaside. Some souvenirs from cinematic-sounding places that may or may not exist.

Words like SLEEPERS, OVERNIGHTERS, SNACK, AND DRIFT appeared on earrings, a humorous way of pointing to different rhythms of life. Those in bed by 10 pm, those out until dawn, those grabbing a late-night snack (?) — drifting between consciousness and the unconscious.

The SS 2026 Prada Menswear collection felt like urban youth at sea — between a fast-moving, metropolitan setting, and utopian waterfront getaways.

Speaking to both work and leisure.

Suggesting both vacation and its aftermath.

Being stranded in the city while others are away.

Riding in a car, drifting in and out of sleep.

Yet, unmistakably Prada.

All Images © Cobalt Pages

←

→