Prada Appoints Raf Simons As Co-Creative Director

Two days after Prada's Milan Fashion Week show, the industry has realised that it was to be Miuccia Prada's final time riding solo: Raf Simons has been appointed the brand's co-creative director.

At a live news conference streamed from Prada's Via Bergamo headquarters, the Prada Group's creative director and chief executive, Patrizio Bertelli, announced that the Belgian designer would share “equal responsibilities for creative input and decision-making."

Weighing in on the appointment to The New York Times, 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 designer do not agree with. We think we should not forget in this business about creativity."

Victor Virgile

The Prada A/W ’20 womenswear show, Mrs Prada’s last as the sole creative director

While Miu Miu will remain exempt from Simons' new role, each Prada collection will be designed in tandem, with the first to be released in September – an unusual (but welcomed) move in an industry in which brands are so often under the sole authorship of one monolithic creative director.

Mrs Prada stressed that the appointment was not made to prelude her retirement. Instead, the 71-year-old and Simons aimed to place increased creativity at the root of the decision, as the fashion industry increasingly focuses on commercial gain.

Simons, formerly the creative director of both Calvin Klein and Dior, will continue to develop his own label alongside the new role.