Prada Is Heralding the Return of the Skinny Fit

Now, Prada is joining the fray. You’d have to scroll back to spring 2023 to find the last time Prada went this tight for its menswear—and that was still stove-pipe trousers, with give around the thigh and calf. Nothing as tight as this, and definitely not as much of it.

Maybe for that reason, this collection felt a little more Raf. You could still see Mrs Prada’s diligent work in the ’60s prints and daubs of industrial influence, but Simons has always played with the slightly-anarchic rocker look. In his own fall-winter 2003 collection, he linked up with graphic designer Peter Saville, the artist behind iconic album covers for Joy Division, Pulp and Suede. Those indie sleaze and Britpop vibes were strong at Prada two decades later, too, especially in the styling: sized-down leather and denim jackets, sized-up hair and shades and belts. Many of the models were sporting fluffy, flipped-up shags. Others went spikier.

The bags were also hit with the shrink ray. Nylon pouches were clipped to belts, bouncing semi-comically against the models’ hips as they walked. Shoes were slim-lined, covered in straps that hung off the side.

Courtesy of Prada

Courtesy of Prada

For Mrs. Prada and Simons, at least, this wasn’t an exercise in nostalgia. Instead, it was about stripping things back. “There is nothing that I hate more in this period than useless design,” Mrs. Prada said in her pre-quote. “This collection expresses this concept. And this nothingness is very precise—to do this is far more difficult to achieve.”

Arguably even more difficult to achieve than nothingness? Convincing men it’s time to return to the harrowing days of skinny suits and jeans. Sure, some will be gassed—a few GQ staffers among them—but for the most part, regular guys may not be ready to slim back down. That’s not surprising. Runway shows always feel radical at first. But if any fashion house can make tight trousers feel chic again, surely it’s Prada.