Miuccia and Raf: Fashion’s New Power Couple

MILAN — Fashion solo acts are yielding to co-creation. In one of the biggest meetings of design muscle in history, Miuccia Prada has invited Raf Simons to become co-creative director of the Prada brand. The first codesigned collection is to be unveiled on the runway for spring 2021 during Milan Fashion Week in September. While there is bound to be huge anticipation given Prada’s stature in the luxury world and Simons’ cult-like following with the streetwear crowd, this is no onetime drop. Asked about the length of the employment contract with Simons, who starts on April 2, Prada said, “In theory, it’s forever.” Prada organized a press conference Sunday to reveal the partnership — which, as reported in WWD in late January, had been rumored for months — with the two designers seated on green velvet armchairs clutching microphones: he in a roomy sky-blue coat and gleaming white boots; she in a navy sweater, pants and a vintage diamond necklace. Investors are likely to applaud the move, as equity analysts have been lamenting a dearth of newness at the Italian firm, which has been trailing its luxury rivals in recent years. And while Prada brushed off a suggestion that she might be retiring soon, the money

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