For the Italian fashion house Prada, the skirt occupies the same position as the trench coat for the British brand Burberry and the Bar jacket for the French fashion house Dior.
It is considered one of the most prominent features that have marked the identity of the fashion house, and has been a fundamental element in its collections since Miuccia Prada took over the management of her family company in the late 1970s.
The Italian designer did not abandon her association with the skirt, and she rarely appeared in a look without an A-line skirt.
During an interview with American journalist Charlie Rose in 2006, which was widely recirculated on the Internet after the house opened Fashion Week in the Italian city of Milan, she considered that the skirt is like a T-shirt, and it is the starting point for building the look, starting from the shirt and jacket, all the way to the rest of the elements.
She added: "I care about skirts much more than trousers. I always say that a woman who wears trousers is more concerned with making her bag look beautiful, while a skirt gives you much more room to coordinate, experiment, and add your creative touch."
This is how the Italian house "Prada" presented what it does well, in its spring and summer 2027 show, which bore the direct title: "The Skirt."
The skirt imposed its presence on all 63 looks, as dresses, pants and shorts were absent from the collection, in an approach that Miuccia and her creative management partner, Belgian designer Raf Simons, described in the show notes as “an exercise in exploration within strict limits.”
The skirts came in pleated cuts and soft colors of gray and black, interspersed with phosphorescent touches, along with layers, ruffles, bows, and printed diagrams. There were also designs dyed in a way that mimics the paintings of Mark Rothko, and others completely embroidered with crystal, while delicate stones were fixed on industrial Velcro straps in a number of looks.
Raf Simons said they were interested in the way the Italian house's skirts maintain their presence over time, noting that their "strangeness, shape, and decorations" reflect constant elements in the fashion house's design language.
Tanoura regains its presence after an absence
This focus on the skirt comes at a time when the piece is beginning to regain its presence after years during which tailored trousers with precise cuts and tracksuit pants were at the forefront of fashion trends.
Global skirt market forecasts indicate a growth of approximately 6.5% annually until 2033, in light of a shift in the sector away from the neutral colors associated with the trend of “relaxed luxury”, towards more diverse and playful options. But this shift was not unanimous.
In February, Dario Vitale presented in his only collection for the Italian house Versace a pencil skirt with prints inspired by the works of the American artist Andy Warhol, before leaving the fashion house after it was acquired by the Prada group.
On the other hand, the “An Excellent Fit” podcast announced in one of its episodes the “death” of the skirt, while American editor Jo Ellison revealed, in the Financial Times newspaper, that she had excluded it from her closet due to the difficulty of coordinating it, as the difference in height and the types of shoes suitable for it require a great deal of thought, as she put it.
However, Miuccia believed that these complications are precisely what gives the skirt its creative value, as she pointed out that this single piece combines different ideas, and each person wearing the skirt can re-present it in his own way by coordinating it with other pieces, which changes its meaning, adding that it is a contemporary piece thanks to its flexibility and ability to adapt, and opens the way for contradiction.
For Prada and Simons, dedicating the entire collection to the skirt was not a kind of narrowing down of options, but rather an experiment in exploring its multiple possibilities, transforming it into a piece that can be reinterpreted according to the style and style of each wearer.
