After many months of speculation, it has finally been announced that Raf Simons will be joining the house of Prada. The Belgian designer is taking the role of co-creative director, equally working alongside Miuccia Prada in creative input and decision-making. This will be the first long-term power-sharing by creative equals at a major public brand. It will all kick off on the 2nd April 2020, with their first show in Milan in September for Spring/Summer 2021 womenswear.
This is a first for such big names to have equal creative control, which I think it incredible. In an industry where designers are not known for sharing the spotlight, for two huge designers to come together is revolutionary. Simons recently left Calvin Klein in December 2018 where he was chief creative officer, and Prada said they had been in discussions for more than a year about the possibility of working together. This further stresses how carefully they have thought about this to ensure it would be successful, and I think it most definitely will be, given the amount of emails and posts on social media I’ve seen in the last few hours of people exclaiming their excitement.
There has been much speculation over this decision being made as Prada’s preparation for her eventual retirement, but she has denied this. Rather, both designers explained it as trying to right the balance in the everchanging fashion world, where many are prioritising commercial results over creativity.
There is a current fear that the fashion world is edging closer to actually excluding creatives, putting money and marketing before creative thinking. Simons said, “I see more and more the possibility of having a strong business without strong creation. That is something we do not agree with, Miuccia and myself, and I know for a fact many designers do not agree with. We think we should not forget in this business about creativity.” I think this is crazy how in such a creative world of work, creativity is actually being diminished. Therefore, this partnership shall hopefully restore this and lead people to become inspired again and do what they do best, create masterpieces.
The house of Prada further explained the thinking behind this move, saying, “It opens a new dialogue, between designers widely acknowledged as two of the most important and influential of today. Conceptually, it is also a new approach to the very definition of creative direction for a fashion brand — a strong challenge to the idea of singularity of creative authorship, whilst also a bold reinforcement of the importance and power of creativity in a shifting cultural landscape. As times change, so should creativity.”
I think this is a very exciting collaboration and hopefully encourages other fashion houses to do the same. Not only think to collaborate with like-minded people, but also encourage outside thinking, getting more opinions on designs to open up a new sphere of creativity.
Bring on September!
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