Prada offers savage, instinctive menswear during Milan Fashion Week

MILAN (AP) — Miuccia Prada and her co-creative director Raf Simons described the latest Prada menswear collaboration unveiled during Milan Fashion Week on Sunday as raw and cinematic.

While the Milan Fall-Winter 2025-2026 runway was full of faux fur collars, Prada went the usual step beyond and created primitive detailing in shearling that looked almost torn from the beast and set askew on outerwear lapels, or patchworked into garments.

“Maybe, it reads as savage, primitive cavemen. I think that our aim was to make it feel warm and human and instinctive, but also kind of beautifully domestic in a way,” Simons said backstage.

Cinematic references were broad and not specific to any film, director or even character type, Simons said. Western touches included scuffed cowboy boots and knitwear mimicking a wrangler’s shirt - without creating characters or caricatures.

Feminine touches flourished. Men were invited to wear jewelry, such as bracelets with mini basketballs or baseballs. Chains with amulets hung from fine knits. Fake fur-lined hoods came in florals.

The silhouette mixed skinny trousers, often in bright rock-and-roll satin, with more ample volumes like pajama tops or slightly ratty sweaters. Suits required no shirts, as the designers advocated instinctive dressing.

One look seemed to distill the collection to its boyish essence: Straight leg jeans with a knit top featuring striped detailing, worn with floral-stamped cowboy boots.

The designers said the collection was meant to offer hope in difficult times, proffering humanity as a form of resistance to whatever may be oppressing.

“It’s a bit of an answer to what of course is happening. We have to resist with our instinct, with our humanity, with our passion, with our romance,’’ Prada said backstage. Good work, she said, is also a form of resistance.

The message contained in the collection "has to be optimistic by definition and in principle,’’ Prada said.

The ever-transforming showroom inside the Prada Foundation’s Deposito contemporary art space was sheathed in Art Noveau carpet, and the runway was set on raised metal scaffolding. Simons said it represented contrasts, decoration and a work-in-progress.

Suits require no shirts. Two puffers are better than one. Raw shearling collars let loose primitive instincts. Subtle jewelry and florals for men. Cowboy boots.

Prada's front row hailed from across the globe and disciplines, including British actor and musician William Gao, arriving with British musician Olivia Hardy, U.S. actor Keith Powers, South Korean actress Kim Tae-ri, Chinese table tennis player Ma Long and British actor Louis Patridge. A crowd of fans waited just beyond a barricade to cheer them all.

Louis Partridge arrives as he attends at the men's Prada Fall-Winter 2025-2026 collection show, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Sebastian Stan arrives as he attends at the men's Prada Fall-Winter 2025-2026 collection show, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

William Gao and Olivia Hardy arrive as they attend at the men's Prada Fall-Winter 2025-2026 collection show, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Kentaro Sakaguchi arrives as he attends at the men's Prada Fall-Winter 2025-2026 collection show, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Li Xian arrives as he attends at the men's Prada Fall-Winter 2025-2026 collection show, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Win Metawin Opas-iamkajorn arrives as he attends at the men's Prada Fall-Winter 2025-2026 collection show, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Ma Long arrives as he attends at the men's Prada Fall-Winter 2025-2026 collection show, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Keith Powers arrives as he attends at the men's Prada Fall-Winter 2025-2026 collection show, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Kim Tae-Ri arrives as she attends at the men's Prada Fall-Winter 2025-2026 collection show, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

A model wears a creation part of the men's Prada Fall-Winter 2025-2026 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

A model wears a creation part of the men's Prada Fall-Winter 2025-2026 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

A model wears a creation part of the men's Prada Fall-Winter 2025-2026 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

A model wears a creation part of the men's Prada Fall-Winter 2025-2026 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

A model wears a creation part of the men's Prada Fall-Winter 2025-2026 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

A model wears a creation part of the men's Prada Fall-Winter 2025-2026 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

A model wears a creation part of the men's Prada Fall-Winter 2025-2026 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

A model wears a creation part of the men's Prada Fall-Winter 2025-2026 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

A model wears a creation part of the men's Prada Fall-Winter 2025-2026 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

A model wears a creation part of the men's Prada Fall-Winter 2025-2026 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

A model wears a creation part of the men's Prada Fall-Winter 2025-2026 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

A model wears a creation part of the men's Prada Fall-Winter 2025-2026 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

A model wears a creation part of the men's Prada Fall-Winter 2025-2026 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

A model wears a creation part of the men's Prada Fall-Winter 2025-2026 collection, that was presented in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Veteran U.S. pilot Kaillie Humphries Armbruster got her second two-woman World Cup bobsled win of the season on Sunday, shortly before German star Francesco Friedrich's streak of 48 consecutive medal-winning finishes on the circuit came to an end.

Humphries Armbruster teamed with Jasmine Jones to win by the slimmest of margins in bobsled — one one-hundredth of a second. They finished two runs at St. Moritz, Switzerland, in 2 minutes, 18.40 seconds, while the Swiss team of Melanie Hasler and Nadja Pasternack was second in 2:18.41.

Laura Nolte and Leonie Kluwig of Germany were third in 2:18.43. The 0.03-second margin between the three medal-winning sleds was the closest in a World Cup race since 0.02 seconds separated the top three finishers in a two-man race at Whistler, Canada, on Jan. 23, 2016.

It was the 32nd World Cup win for Humphries Armbruster and the first for Jones.

"I knew that Kaillie and I could do it with fast pushes and a great drive,” Jones said.

Kaysha Love and Emily Renna were eighth for the U.S. in the two-woman race, while Elana Meyers Taylor and rookie bobsledder Jadin O'Brien — a national champion in track at Notre Dame — were 10th.

In the four-man race, Friedrich drove his sled to a sixth-place finish — his lowest in a World Cup two- or four-man event since January 2023. He had 19 golds, 22 silvers and seven bronzes in that 48-race streak since; one of those golds was later taken away following sanctions against a German brakeman.

Instead, it was Adam Ammour of Germany driving to the win — the first four-man victory of his career. Johannes Lochner of Germany drove to second and Michael Vogt of Switzerland was third.

Frank Del Duca was 16th for the U.S., which will unveil its Olympic teams for the Milan Cortina Games next week.

USA Luge's women's doubles team of Chevonne Forgan and Sophia Kirkby are going to the Olympics. The Milan Cortina Games will be the first to include women's doubles as a medal event.

Only 11 sleds are going to the Olympics in women's doubles, primarily the top-ranked sled from each competing nation. That means the U.S. team of Maya Chan and Sophia Gordon — a contending sled all season with more than enough standings points to qualify — likely won't compete at the Olympics, unless some nations decline their spot in the Milan Cortina field.

Also Olympics-bound for the U.S.: the men's doubles teams of Marcus Mueller and Ansel Haugsjaa, plus 2022 Olympians Zack DiGregorio and Sean Hollander.

The team will be unveiled by USA Luge on Monday and likely to be officially nominated by the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee later this week.

In a World Cup women's doubles race at Winterberg, Germany, on Sunday, Jessica Degenhardt and Cheyenne Rosenthal from the host nation won in 1:26.710, followed by Selina Egle and Lara Kipp of Austria and Dajana Eitberger and Magdalena Matschina of Germany.

Germany also won the men's doubles World Cup race, with Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt prevailing in 1:25.599. Austria took silver and bronze; Thomas Steu and Wolfgang Kindl were second, Juri Gatt and Riccardo Schoepf were third.

Mueller and Haugsjaa were the top U.S. men's doubles sled, placing 10th.

Germany finished off a sweep of the day with a win in the team relay, with Austria second and Italy third. The U.S. was fourth.

Luge: World Cup men’s singles, women's singles Saturday at Oberhof, Germany.

Bobsled: World Cup monobob, two-man races Saturday at Altenberg, Germany.

Skeleton: Men’s, women’s and mixed World Cup races on Friday at Altenberg.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Austria's Selina Egle and Lara Michaela Kipp race through the ice channel, during the Women's doubles 1st run, at the Luge World Cup, in Winterberg, Germany, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (David Inderlied/dpa via AP)

Juri Thomas Gatt, left, and Riccardo Schöpf of Austria celebrate their third place in the doubles men competition of the Luge World Cup in Winterberg, Germany, Sunday Jan. 11, 2026. (David Inderlied/dpa via AP)

Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt of Germany celebrate their victory in the doubles men competition of the Luge World Cup in Winterberg, Germany, Sunday Jan. 11, 2026. (David Inderlied/dpa via AP)

Kaillie Armbruster Humphries of the USA in action, during the Women's Mono-Bob World Cup, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (Mayk Wendt/Keystone via AP)

Kaillie Armbruster Humphries/Jasmine Jones o thef USA in action during the Women's 2-Bob World Cup, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (Mayk Wendt/Keystone via AP)