Miuccia Prada has already patiently hearted countless well-wishers backstage after the show, as the actress Naomi Ackie stands in front of her towards the end: "Thank you so much for letting me be here," she says. "You are an icon." Naomi Ackie knows a thing or two about icons, last year she played Whitney Houston in the film of the same name.

Jennifer Wiebking

Editor in the "Life" section of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.

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Miuccia Prada is probably one too: for 35 years, this fashion icon has been presenting one collection after the next in Milan, with handbags she has been in business even longer in this short-lived industry. There were also lulls, but right now the brand is hip again, and the icon Miuccia Prada is now speaking in the midst of a cluster of journalists, as she has been doing for decades after her shows. It begins with how they took on work clothes, from the professions "in which people take care of each other". The nurse's coat now becomes a dress with a train that grazes the floor.

The predecessors step down

But wait – apart from the crowd stands the Belgian designer Raf Simons, who has been working at Miuccia Prada's side for three years and says: "I'm sure she can explain it much better." He then takes over anyway and tells how the wedding is also a sign that people care for each other, which is why the color white has special meaning in the collection. How the crazy proportions of these dresses – the padded skirts, the short jackets and long dresses – are meant to symbolize the beauty of the everyday.

At 55 years old, much of which he has spent in the fashion scene, Raf Simons is certainly not a young designer. These are the fewest that still appear in this text. But crucially, the previous generation, with its great icons who turned fashion into an instance of pop culture, is now gradually leaving. Some die, such as Vivienne Westwood at the end of December, some say goodbye to fashion, as recently the Etro and Missoni families. The reason for this is often that brands have apparently long been better off in the hands of investors than families. The Missonis posted carnival pictures instead on Instagram in recent days, when the designers showed their collections for autumn for fashion week in Milan.

"A new opportunity in life"

On the catwalks, and in the city in general, on the other hand, you get an impression of who could shape fashion in the future – and what should become of it at all. It is almost symbolic that construction is currently taking place everywhere in Milan, not least in preparation for the 2026 Olympics, and that Etro, Jil Sander, Bottega Veneta and so on are also dressing the buildings with their big billboards.

At the fashion houses, the renovation work is also in progress: At Etro, the Italian Marco de Vincenzo took over from Veronica and Kean Etro last summer. He showed his first collection in September three weeks after taking office. In recent months, he has been able to "really immerse himself in the archives with their wonderful materials". That's what he tells us on Wednesday evening before his second show. Maybe he really rejuvenates the brand with the flutter dresses, which are also a new topic for him. The low-cut embroidered patent leather blazers look much more confident, preferably in combination with jeans and corduroy trousers. "It's nice to get such a new opportunity in life," he says, "I'm already 44."

No chance 15 years ago

Marco de Vincenzo is in good company. In Milan, a generation is now taking over, which 15 years ago was considered to have no chance because the older designers persistently continued their brands. Fashion has rejuvenated after all, Kim Jones, 49, has settled in at Fendi after the Karl Lagerfeld era and has long since made discreet luxury his business. Walter Chiapponi, 44, is getting better and better at Tod's. From autumn on, his wrap ballerina shoes and rough boots will be available in the shops. The fitted jackets would have deserved at least as prominent a place. How does he come to these rapid cuts? "By hand. I don't draw anymore," Chiapponi says backstage after the show. "Cutting, sewing, staking out." That's how it works.