165 feet of ribbon, 13 hours of embroidery. The allure of a handmade Prada dress

As a young aspiring ballerina, I was transfixed by ribbons. Attached just so, winding up the ankle like a vine, tied expertly on the inside of the leg — to me, nothing completed a ballet slipper like a ribbon. I anticipated receiving my ribbons — normally achieved when a dancer reaches Grade 3 in the Royal Academy of Dance syllabus — more than graduating to pointe shoes. When I was finally old enough to accessorize my slippers, I took great care in my ribbon ritual. The ribbons were bubblegum pink when brand new, and I stayed up late, carefully dyeing them in a bath of boiling tea until they reached the correct shade to match my slippers and tights, before sewing them on by hand at the perfect, ergonomic angle. I reveled in the task of learning to tie my ribbons; it felt like an arrival. I was one step closer to looking and feeling like a real ballerina.

In today’s fashion ecosystem, the versatility of a bow is on full display.

Ribbons are easy to romanticize, especially as we exit Brat Summer, where Charli XCX’s “Everything Is Romantic” has served as the sonic partner to the resurgence of ballet flats, puffy skirts and, yes, ribbons. The way a ribbon is styled communicates very different things — for example, not all ribbons are bows, yet a bow transforms a ribbon. In today’s fashion ecosystem, the versatility of a bow is on full display. London-based designer Simone Rocha’s bow earrings have become a staple. Fine and weightless, they finish any outfit. The Shanghai label Shushu/Tong employs bow maximalism, with every piece incorporating at least one bow, resulting in garments that are playful yet restrained. New York designer Sandy Liang’s summer collaboration with Salomon uses ribbons and bows for a refreshing twist on the gorp standard. And style influencers have been democratically tying bows on everything from over-ear headphones to bag straps to headbands.

In all its serene defiance, the Prada embroidered ribbon dress is also about a bow. In the brand’s autumn/winter 2024 women’s collection — aptly titled “Instinctive Romance” — designers Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons play with hard and soft, black and pink, tailored and relaxed, to propose fall’s most poetic take on romantic fashion, culminating with an embroidered ribbon dress, a sleeveless shift made of 35 hand-cut, -tied and -embroidered bows cascading from neck to knee. The bows danced as the models walked down the runway during the collection’s show at the Prada Foundation in Milan in tone-on-tone aubergine and baby pink iterations styled with black knee-high boots. The back of the dress featured an unexpected panel of black silk, minimal and bowless. When the models turned to march backstage, their ribbon tails confidently reached around from the front in buoyant embrace. (Chioma Nnadi, editor in chief of British Vogue, described the dress as the “bowment” of the season.)

“Made in Prada — Fragments of Romance” (Courtesy of Prada)

Wholly intentional, Prada’s design team used complex techniques to animate each bow. The first step involved positioning the ribbon embroidery in a classic chevron pattern. The embroiderer then cut the satin ribbons at precise angles to correspond with the pattern and secured the ribbons onto the fabric by hand. The preparation of 35 bows was next; they were shaped and ironed one by one before they were sewn at the specified points along the chevron pattern created by the ribbons. The next step involved attaching the embroidered fabric to the contrasting black silk lining, then a second pressing, followed by additional bows being sewn at the hips and around the neck. After 165 feet of ribbon and 13 hours of embroidery, a dress was complete.

Brought to life by craftsmanship that can be executed only by hand, the ribbons on this dress are alive. They speak, surely, but they don’t shout. Miuccia Prada’s long-standing love for ribbon is well documented at her other brand, Miu Miu, where inventive references to ballet and femininity are often the undercurrent of each collection. The Prada embroidered ribbon dress is the posh auntie’s version of Miu Miu’s preeminent and forever young buckle ballet flats. Both items prove that cute and tough can coincide in a way that only Prada can do.

Fernanda wears embroidered dresses from “Instinctive Romance” Fall/Winter 2024 Prada collection.

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Long categorized as clichés of femininity, ribbons and bows have been reduced to stereotypes, rather than the compelling and versatile tool they are. Maybe the current resurgence of bows in fashion stems from the desire to reclaim this narrative while simultaneously romanticizing our lives in turbulent times. What could be less romantic than an election year? A bow is a hit of sweet to overpower the sour, but it’s also confident and fluid in its dimensions, expressing much more than it’s given credit for.

In rhythmic gymnastics, ribbons become an extension of the dancer’s body and punctuate every movement with equal parts control and abandon. Stevie Wonder used ribbons as a metaphor for endless love. From awareness ribbons to gift giving, ribbons are used to show compassion and care too. In many communities, ribbons and bows play a significant cultural role, from intricate hair braiding traditions in Guatemala to sacred ribbon skirts in Indigenous tribes across North America. What is a ribbon, then, but a vessel for deep connection and communication? A bow, however saccharine, is symbolic and powerful. A reclamation of cute and a potent, universal tool for self-expression. Call it the bow attitude.

Model Fernanda Álvarez
Hair and makeup Carla Perez
Styling assistant Deirdre Marcial

Romany Williams is a writer, editor and stylist based on Vancouver Island, Canada. Her collaborators include SSENSE, Atmos, L.A. Times Image and more.