Prada’s latest menswear runway, Before And Next, spun a Dickensian twist on the traditional silhouette

One of the more subtle advantages of being in the opposite hemisphere is perspective. Distance has a way of sharpening things. Collections arrive not as something to covet for seasons to come but as propositions—less about immediacy, more about what will last. Prada’s Fall 2026 menswear runway, Before and Next, is one such proposition: a study in evolution without erasure, where new ideas emerge carrying the weight and reassurance of what has come before.

Conceived by Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons as a reflection on continuity, the collection sits comfortably within the current menswear moment, where tailoring is once again prized for its endurance rather than novelty. It offers clothes designed for the months and years ahead, shaped by broader conversations around cultural memory, sustainability and identity. It was not a runway interested in reinvention for its own sake, but in refinement—in asking what remains useful, meaningful and emotionally resonant now.

Sure, the looks themselves may not be available until the tail end of the year, but there are design and styling cues the fashion set can lean into now. Beyond a muted palette of traditional trenches and worn textures—woollen coats and patinaed jackets, both long and short—which felt well suited to a gloomy London day, the juxtaposition of colour was soft and intentional. While there was still vibrancy in the hues of sweaters, shirts and whimsical little parka capes, the colours felt truer somehow. Not pastel, not neon, but simply ever-present.

Elsewhere, cuffs and sleeves were buried beneath smart tailoring—something that is fast becoming Prada’s métier. Timeless silhouettes (is this another recession indicator?) were brought to life through more intriguing, almost furtive details: sleeves bundled in, exaggerated cuffs folded out, a series of hats with slightly mysterious proportions. These were looks not intended to feel new, but rather well-worn. With that comes a tacit understanding that the best clothes in our wardrobes are not those saved for special occasions, but the ones worn often. The pieces that easily become part of daily life.

The show notes themselves pose the question: what can we build from what we have learned? There is no single answer, only offerings, of which Prada delivered many. The designers spoke of clarity as a gift of assurance in uncomfortable and unpredictable times, describing what they call archaeologies of thought, beauty and lives. Through a reduction in the architecture of garments, the collection draws awareness inward. Perhaps, then, some of the most seemingly simple (even if complex in construction) garments are the greatest barometers of human expression.

It was a collection that, when asked, singer Troye Sivan remarked, made him want to walk down the street menacingly. That sentiment feels fitting, given the everyday revival of a more gothic mood. Many online reactions have pointed to an Oliver Twist moment, and there are certainly muted tonal wools that recall the Victorian era. Yet what is often overlooked is that Dickensian cues themselves pull from centuries prior: a more elaborate, ornate gloom, rather than a hollow nostalgia for a single moment in time.

These gothic elements—long embraced by both romance and horror—feel especially apt for Prada and Simons’ Before And Next. Often described as ‘urban gothic’, this aesthetic, much like Dickens employed in Oliver Twist, can function as a vehicle for moral outrage: evoking sympathy for the disadvantaged while reminding us that monsters are not always ghosts, but sometimes institutionalised evils born of greed and injustice.

And while the collection may appeal to some for its endurance and trans-seasonal wearability, it also reaffirms something deeper. Prada’s lasting success lies in the House’s ability to imbue everyday dress with thoughtful commentary—particularly now, when we seem to need it most. Perhaps that, in itself, is the most significant evolution of all.