Prada and Formafantasma announce the fifth edition of their collaborative symposium. Prada Frames will take place from 19 to 21 April 2026 during Milan Design Week, and this year's theme is 'In Sight'.
What is Prada Frames?
Prada Frames made its debut in 2022: a series of lectures and conversations led by Formafantasma, the symposium has since become a key moment of Milan Design Week (in 2023, the initiative also had a two-day event at Hong Kong's M+).
‘Education and culture are essential instruments that help us not only comprehend ourselves and the world we live in, but also urge us to explore the unknown,’ said Miuccia Prada on the occasion of the project's launch in 2022. ‘Conversations have always been at the core of Prada’s approach and investigation of the world, so Prada Frames with Formafantasma was a very natural step in this direction.’
This has proved to be a successful approach, with the three-day symposium returning year after year and exploring themes such as 'On Forest', 'Materials in Flux’, 'Being Home' and 'In Transit' - both reflecting Formafantasma's own research focus and the key topics resonating across the creative industries (and beyond, with speakers ranging from the fields of film, philosophy and science).
Prada Frames 2026: 'In Sight'
The 2026 theme of 'In Sight' focuses on image-making. 'Images, today, embed a net of entanglements, challenges and contradictions,' read a note introducing the upcoming edition. 'No longer a reliable depiction of truth, they embody a tension between the real and the represented, with distinctions between human-authored and machine-generated increasingly blurred. As a result, reference points crumble, complicating the ability to discern reliable information from fabrication.'
In typical Formafantama modus operandi, the infrastructure of image-making will also be addressed, from a point of view of extraction of resources, energy consumption, data storage, and invisible forms of labour.
As in previous years, the symposium's location will also play a key role in shaping the audience's experience. In the past, Prada and Formafantasma have taken over key historical Milanese venues such as the National Braidense Library, Luigi Caccia Dominioni's Teatro Filodrammatici and Gio Ponti's Arlecchino Train. The 2026 edition will be staged within the sacrestia of Santa Maria delle Grazie church, notably the home of Leonardo's 'Last Supper'.
Guests will experience the Renaissance space (attributed to architect Donato Bramante), defined by cabinets inlaid with biblical scenes by Domenico and Francesco Morone. Small groups will be allowed to join guided visits of the building, expanding the context of the symposium into an architectural experience.
'Prada Frames is a space where different forms of knowledge meet,' say Formafantasma founders, Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin. 'The challenges we face today are complex and interconnected, and they cannot be understood from a single point of view. Bringing together voices from different disciplines – whether science, the humanities, activism, or the arts – creates a richer conversation and allows us to look at the present from multiple perspectives.
'For us, this exchange is essential to better understand the systems shaping our world and how we might navigate them.'
Admission to Prada Frames In Sight is complimentary, based on availability, upon registration at prada.com from April 13. Speakers will be announced closer to the date.
Prada Frames, 19-21 April 2026, Basilica di Santa Maria delle Grazie, Via Giuseppe Antonio Sassi, 3, Milan