Prada skirts open Milan Fashion Week

Prada opened Milan Fashion Week on Tuesday with a Spring-Summer 2027 show built around skirts, turning the luxury brand's long-running garment into the centre of the runway.

Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons presented grey pleated skirts, green straight designs, floral minis under leather coats and flower-encrusted pieces, with many models walking in high heels. Naomi Watts, Michelle Williams and Uma Thurman watched from the front row.

The show came during a busy week for Prada, which has expanded its flagship store in Milan's 19th-century Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, where the brand began in 1913. The expanded site adds an underground gallery, a museum and large private salons to the brand's existing boutiques, patisserie and contemporary art space.

Milan's Spring-Summer 2027 fashion week is also expected to feature the debut Moschino show by French designer Loris Messina and Italian designer Simone Rizzo, the founders of Sunnei. Demna is due to present his second collection at Gucci, while Maria Grazia Chiuri is also presenting for the second time at Fendi.

Carlo Capasa, head of the Italian fashion chamber, said earlier this month that 2026 began with a tough January but the sector held up in the second quarter. The chamber expects sector revenue to fall 1.6% for the year, with cosmetics rising, apparel improving and footwear still struggling.

Dior has opened a multi-storey boutique on Via Montenapoleone with a restaurant led by Michelin-starred chef Enrico Bartolini. LVMH has also recently unveiled new stores for Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co and Bulgari, and inaugurated a new Loro Piana factory in Ghemme in Piedmont.

Other first Milan shows this week are due from Portuguese brands Marques'Almeida and Miguel Vieira and Ecuadorian designer Neithan Ruiz. Glenn Martens is presenting his final Diesel collection, though he will remain within the Diesel group at Maison Martin Margiela.