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.

Collection hallmarks

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.

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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.

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Fashion as meaning

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.

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The Setting

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.

Trend watch

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.

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Star power

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.

In the first images of the three hostages Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher, and Emily Damari being released to the Israeli Defense Forces on Sunday after their long captivity by Hamas, their faces told a story of resilience. After spending 471 days as prisoners, all three women were able to walk unaided from Red Cross vehicles to waiting IDF officials, marking the first step in Israel’s historic cease-fire and hostage exchange agreement with Hamas.

The return of the three women was celebrated across Israel. Mandy Damari, mother of British-Israeli Emily Damari, said in a statement: “After 471 days Emily is finally home. I want to thank everyone who never stopped fighting for Emily throughout this horrendous ordeal, and who never stopped saying her name. In Israel, Britain, the United States, and around the world. Thank you for bringing Emily home. While Emily’s nightmare in Gaza is over, for too many other families the impossible wait continues. Every last hostage must be released, and humanitarian aid must be provided to the hostages who are still waiting to come home.”

In a live broadcast, Romi Gonen’s father, Eitan, recited the Jewish blessing “Shehecheyanu,” expressing gratitude for his daughter’s safe return. Meanwhile, her grandmother, Debora, voiced both relief and anguish: “I’ve waited for this day, this is the reason I live for, to see my granddaughter come home. But my heart is with the families still waiting. We must bring them all home.”

HAMAS RELEASES 3 HOSTAGES UNDER ISRAEL CEASE-FIRE DEAL

Ashley Waxman Bakshi, the cousin of Agam Berger—a young soldier still held captive—captured the mixed emotions of the day. “After enduring hell, we desperately needed a moment to breathe and smile,” Bakshi told Fox New Digital during a gathering in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, where thousands came together to witness the first phase of the deal. “But this is only the beginning. We must continue until everyone is home.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who received real-time updates from IDF Coordinator Brigadier General (Res.) Gal Hirsch, described the moment as deeply emotional. “These three women have endured unimaginable darkness,” Netanyahu said on the call with Hirsch. “Today, they step into the light, free at last, thanks to the heroic sacrifices of our soldiers. We will not stop until every last hostage is returned.”

ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES WILL RECEIVE HOSTAGES SUNDAY WITH EQUIPPED CAMPER TRAILERS AND COMFORTING SUPPLIES

The three released Israeli hostages, Emily Damari, Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher, who had been abducted during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Palestinian militants, exit a van before boarding an Israeli Air Force military transport helicopter near Re’im in southern Israel on Jan. 19, 2025, after a cease-fire and hostage-prisoner exchange deal in the war between Israel and Hamas was implemented. (GIL COHEN-MAGEN/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel’s President Isaac Herzog welcomed the three women with a message of hope: “Romi, Emily, and Doron—so beloved and missed—an entire nation rejoices in your return. This is a day of joy and comfort, and the beginning of a challenging journey of recovery and healing together.” Herzog also acknowledged the pain of families still waiting for news of their loved ones, pledging that Israel would not rest until all hostages were brought home.

The release of the hostages comes as part of a U.S.-Qatar-Egypt-mediated deal, in which Israel will release 90 Palestinian prisoners, some convicted of murder. Critics fear the potential security risks of releasing individuals involved in terror attacks that claimed Israeli lives. Defense Minister Israel Katz acknowledged these concerns, stating, “This is a moment of hope, but we must remain vigilant. We will not rest until all hostages are returned, alive or for burial.”

President Joe Biden reiterated his administration’s commitment to supporting Israel and ensuring the deal’s success, while acknowledging its complexity. “This deal must be seen through to its end. It falls to the next administration to continue this work, but today is a step forward.”

WHAT TO EXPECT AS ISRAEL-HAMAS CEASE-FIRE GOES INTO EFFECT ON SUNDAY

The deal, while sparking hope, also fuels anxiety about its durability and consequences. Critics question whether Hamas will honor the terms of the multi-phase agreement and express fears over the release of dangerous prisoners potentially reigniting violence.

Photos from the IDF’s preparations at the various sites and in the hospitals where the hostages will arrive (IDF)

The first phase of the agreement is set to last five weeks, with hostages and prisoners exchanged in carefully planned stages. By the 16th day, negotiations will begin for the second phase, focusing on the release of soldiers and young men, as well as the return of bodies. The IDF will maintain a presence in Gaza during this period, moving troops to a new security zone to oversee the deal’s implementation.

For the families of the 98 hostages still held by Hamas, Sunday’s events brought a glimmer of hope amid the pain. “We rejoice for the families reunited today,” Bakshi said. “But this is far from over. It’s just the beginning of a long journey to bring everyone home.”

An election observation mission has been set up by the European Union to oversee parliamentary elections in Kosovo scheduled for 9 February.

A team of 100 observers will monitor the elections, underlining “continuous EU support for Kosovo to further strengthen its democratic governance,” Nathalie Loiseau, the French member of the European Parliament who has been appointed as chief of the mission said.

She said the election will “showcase the plurality of Kosovo’s political landscape.”

In all, 27 political groupings will run for 120 seats in the parliament.

About 100,000 voters registered abroad have already started casting postal ballots.

The Serb minority has 10 secured seats in the parliament.

Ethnic Serbs make up about 2.3% of Kosovo’s 1.6 million population, according to a 2024 census. Serbs largely boycotted that census and have not accepted the figures, calling them too low.

Loiseau said the elections are being held “at a moment when democracies are questioned, sometimes under threat globally…so the importance of having a vibrant democracy in Kosovo has never been bigger.”

NATO-led international peacekeepers known as KFOR, who have increased their presence in Kosovo after last year’s tensions, said their 4,300-strong force will be buttressed by more than 200 Italian troops during the election period.

In September 2023, Serb gunmen killed a police officer and occupied an Orthodox monastery in an incident Kosovo blamed on Serbia, accusing it of organising a plot to grab its northern territory.

Kosovo again put the blame on Serbia for an explosion that damaged water and power supply systems in November last year.

Belgrade denied both accusations but tensions remain between the two neighbours.

Kosovo was a former Serbian province and declared independence in 2008, a move Belgrade doesn’t recognise.

Both the EU and the United States have urged both sides to implement agreements reached two years ago that include a commitment by Kosovo to establish an Association of Serb-Majority Municipalities.

Serbia was also expected to deliver on de facto recognition of Kosovo.