With Miuccia and Raf Simons at the helm, $5.5 billion in sales, and a quiet takeover of Gen Z, Milan’s most cerebral brand is winning by thinking, not shouting
by Fashion & Business Desk
In 2026, while other luxury houses chase virality, Prada is chasing ideas. The result: revenues of €5.43 billion in 2024 (+17% year-on-year), the strongest growth in the LVMH-Kering-Prada triangle, and a brand that feels both 1913 and 2026 at the same time.
Founded by Mario Prada as a leather-goods shop in Milan’s Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Prada today is run by the rare duo of Miuccia Prada, 76, and Raf Simons, 58 — and increasingly by the next generation, Lorenzo Bertelli.
THE NUMBERS: WHY QUIET SELLS
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Group: Prada S.p.A. (Prada, Miu Miu, Church’s, Car Shoe, Marchesi 1824). Listed in Hong Kong.
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2024 sales: Prada brand €3.6bn, Miu Miu €1.2bn (+93% — the fastest-growing luxury brand of the year).
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2025-2026: Despite a luxury slowdown in China, Prada Group grew 15% in H1 2025, driven by leather goods and the US. Miu Miu alone is now bigger than Bottega Veneta was in 2020.
The secret isn’t a logo. It’s product.
FASHION: FROM NYLON TO NO-LOGO
Miuccia invented “ugly chic” in the ’90s. Raf brought rigor. Together since 2020, their Prada is:
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Uniform 2026: slim black nylon backpacks reissued (€1,350), white poplin shirts, shearling-lined loafers, no visible triangle logo. The Spring/Summer 2025 show in Milan featured raw silk dresses that looked like office wear — and sold out in 48 hours.
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Miu Miu effect: ballet flats, micro-minis, and the $560 “book bag” made Miu Miu the Gen Z entry point. Emma Corrin, Sydney Sweeney and K-pop star Momo wear it without a stylist.
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Menswear: Raf’s last full collection (FW25) removed branding entirely. The hero was a $3,200 cashmere coat in “Prada grey” — no label inside.
BEAUTY & LIFESTYLE: THE NEW CASHMERE
Prada Beauty, relaunched with L’Oréal in 2023, hit €250M in 2024. The hero: Prada Paradoxe perfume and the refillable lipstick (€45). In 2025 the brand opened its first standalone beauty store in Tokyo.
Lifestyle: Marchesi 1824 pastry shops now in Milan, London and Shanghai — where a cappuccino costs €9 and the line is 30 minutes long. The Fondazione Prada in Milan remains the art world’s most influential private museum, with 2026’s show curated by Wes Anderson.
GOSSIP & CULTURE
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Succession: Lorenzo Bertelli, 37, Miuccia’s son, is Head of CSR and heir apparent. A former rally driver, he pushed Prada’s Sea Beyond ocean-plastic project and the Re-Nylon line (100% regenerated nylon since 2023). Investors see him as CEO by 2027.
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Celebrity strategy: No ambassadors for Prada. Only “friends”: Hunter Schafer, Troye Sivan, Letitia Wright. Miu Miu, meanwhile, owns the front row — Miuccia personally seats actresses next to artists, not influencers.
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The Raf question: Rumors in early 2026 suggest Raf Simons may step back after his contract ends in 2026 to focus on his own label. Prada denies, but insiders say Miuccia is already training a shadow team in-house.
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Intellect as luxury. While Gucci shouted logos, Prada sold ideas — and now sells more.
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Two-brand engine. Prada is the adult; Miu Miu is the teenager. Together they cover 20 to 70-year-olds without cannibalizing.
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Sustainability that sells. Re-Nylon isn’t marketing — it’s 40% of nylon sales and has a resale value 20% higher than virgin nylon on The RealReal.
As Miuccia said backstage in September 2025: “We don’t make clothes to be photographed. We make clothes to be thought about.”
In 2026, with Miu Miu the hottest brand on TikTok and Prada the most profitable on Wall Street, Milan’s quiet house has proved the most radical idea in luxury: thinking is the new flex.
Photo Credits: Zarateman, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
