Raf Simons Is Prada’s New Co-Creative Director

Belgian fashion designer Raf Simons will be joining Prada as its new co-creative director. Announced on Sunday, Simons will be working in partnership with Miuccia Prada “with equal responsibilities for creative input and decision making.” The move follows his two-year stint as the chief creative officer of Calvin Klein, and the designer will start his new role on April 2.

The first collection co-designed by Prada and Simons, spring-summer 2021, will debut in Milan in September. His move to Prada has been rumored for quite some time now, but it was only announced during a press conference at Prada headquarters during the last day of Milan Fashion Week. “I am committed and excited. This is not a succession. This is a way to boost creativity,” Prada told reporters.

“We feel the need to join as creative people in a dialogue, to bring emotion and bring co-creation,” Simons explained. When Prada was asked how long the contract would last, she said it could last forever “in theory.” She continued, “We like each other, we respect each other. I was sometimes criticized for not doing collaborations, so now I am doing one.”

Simons, no stranger to collaborations, added, “There’s more strength when two creatives believe in it than when one believes in it. If we both believe in it, we’re going to do it.”