In fashion today, the homogenization of style—driven by big data, algorithms, and a relentless pursuit of optimization—has left consumers feeling uninspired. It’s a digital malaise I’ve previously dubbed Algorithmic Boredom—the result of over-reliance on technology to predict and personalise every consumer’s experience, leading to a paradoxical lack of differentiation. Fashion, long a space for individual expression, is increasingly dominated by a sea of sameness. But this season in Milan, three brands—Prada, Max Mara, and Del Core—are pushing back against this conformity with collections that offer a bold alternative to algorithmically generated style.
Prada: The Anti-Algorithm Aesthetic
Miuccia Prada, never one to follow the crowd, delivered a collection that felt like a personal response to the monotony of machine-driven fashion. “Basically, there’s an incredible amount of information being collected about all of us today. Everything you like is recorded by an algorithm,” she explained post-show. Prada’s Spring/Summer 2025 collection didn’t shy away from acknowledging the dominance of AI and data in our lives—but it did offer a vivid counterpoint.
The collection celebrated individuality in its many forms, with a range of looks that referenced Prada classics, like neat suede jackets and conical bras, but reworked through the lens of industrial upcycling and fetishistic edge. The collection's fetish-inspired accessories, cowboy boots, and pierced golf hats felt like a rebellion against the idea that our preferences can be boiled down to data points. These are pieces an algorithm would struggle to generate—surprising, raw, and highly personal. The point was clear: true fashion exists in the spaces algorithms can’t reach, in the individual quirks that make us human.
Max Mara: Embracing the Algorithm with Depth and Emotion
In a season where some designers are distancing themselves from the polished, predictable outcomes of data-driven fashion, Max Mara’s Ian Griffiths takes a different approach—one that doesn’t reject technology, but rather embraces it, adding layers of emotion, history, and intellectual rigor. Hypatia, the 4th-century female scientist and mathematician, became the muse for Max Mara’s Spring/Summer 2025 collection. There’s a deliberate harmony here—Hypatia’s fascination with mathematics and astronomy aligns with today’s obsession with data and precision, but instead of shunning algorithms, Griffiths uses them as a foundation to build something deeper.
The collection’s triangular, conical silhouettes—nods to Hypatia’s studies of geometry—are infused with a sense of history and emotion, rather than being algorithmically flat. The soft, feminine forms, in coffee, toffee, and ivory tones, reflect an approach that merges technology with creativity, transforming the calculated into the profound. Rather than offering a rebellion against algorithms, Max Mara showcases how fashion can evolve by adding human touch, intellectual depth, and emotional resonance, creating pieces that speak to both our data-driven present and our timeless search for meaning.
Del Core: Lab-Girl Chic
Like Max Mara, Daniel Del Core embraces technology and data but transforms it into something chic and unexpected. A former Gucci designer, Del Core’s Spring/Summer 2025 collection, themed around science and experimentation, showcased his vision for the future of fashion. His “Lab-Girl Chic” aesthetic fuses the precision of a scientist with the creativity of a designer.
Models walked the runway holding literary classics like Pride and Prejudice, underscoring that fashion, like literature, should tell stories and explore deeper narratives. Del Core uses technology as a tool, not a limitation, merging it with human creativity to create a collection that is both smart and playful, reminding us that innovation in fashion can coexist with chic sophistication.
Beyond Algorithmic Boredom: The Rise of Emotional Fashion
What ties these three Milanese collections together is their shared refusal to be reduced to data points. In an era where big data drives brands to predict trends and maximise engagement, Prada, Max Mara, and Del Core rebel by embracing creativity and individuality.
Consumers are craving more than algorithm-driven experiences—they want emotion, surprise, and depth. These designers deliver exactly that, rejecting the flat, predictable aesthetic of recent years and reminding us that true fashion can never be fully automated. In breaking free from algorithmic boredom, they offer not just clothing, but a renewed invitation to dream.