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Prada opened its runway show during Milan Fashion Week on Thursday with its take on the little black dress, reflecting what Miuccia Prada called a very black moment in world affairs. To work in this difficult moment is really tough, Prada said backstage. Sidestepping overtly political discussion, she added: What we try to do are clothes that make sense for women today.” Liberating women Prada’s Fall-Winter 2025-26 collection is aimed to liberate women from strictly feminine forms. In that way the little black dress series and other runway looks were loosely constructed, not body-hugging. Co-creative director Raf Simons said liberation was in itself an act of resistance. You cannot be liberated if you don’t take a risk. There needs to be more resistance, he said. The black numbers gave way to girlish knit dresses in Alice-in-Wonderland oversized proportions, layered over trousers for winter days on the playground. Pajamas made a now-familiar shift to daywear, with button tops tucked into sleeper skirts. Raw seams were intentionally revealed on garments. Waistlines were gathered as if by basting, and could be moved from the waist for a midi-skirt or over the bust for a minidress. I would also say that we have rejected a lot of construction,” Simons said, specifically construction that restricts movement. Gestures of glamour Its a mix-and-match world at Prada and just about any of the pieces work as separates: Short-sleeve and tube knitwear tops were bedecked with baubles, like found treasures. Mens shirts scrunched messily at the waist, as if they came untucked. Staples were glammed up with faux fur stoles and fur lapels on coats, blazers and a striking lime green poncho. Prada VIPs American actress Hunter Schafer was among the front-row guests, invited in a show of support, the designers said. The trans actress posted recently that her new passport had been issued with a male gender marker. As usual, crowds of fans waited opposite the Fondazione Prada show space to shower adoration on VIPs. Other front-row stars included actresses Juliette Binoche, Gal Gadot, Maya Hawke and Chen Haoyu, along with Japanese singers Jo and Harua and Korean singer Karina. Is Prada shopping? Milan is abuzz with speculation over whether an Italian company might step forward to buy the rival fashion house Versace. Market speculation has focused on the Prada Group, which besides its namesake brand owns Miu Miu, the footwear brands Church’s and Car Shoe, and Marchesi 1824 pastry shops. “I think it is on everybodys table,” Prada said with a chuckle when asked about the Prada Group’s interest. Colleen Barry, AP fashion writer
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E-Commerce
Stripe on Thursday announced a tender offer for employees and shareholders that valued the company at $91.5 billion, nearly 41% higher than its valuation a year ago, potentially delaying the fintech firm’s ambitions of going public. The deal signals the strong recovery of the global venture capital sector, as central banks have started to cut interest rates amid subdued inflation and strong economic data. “Stripe was profitable in 2024, and we expect to be so in 2025 and beyond,” co-founders John Collison and Patrick Collison said in their annual letter published on Thursday. The payments processing company was valued at $65 billion in a deal last year, which allowed employees to cash out their stock. At its peak, Stripe was valued at $95 billion in 2021. The company serves a variety of high-profile customers, including Elon Musk-led social media platform X, Amazon, car rental firm Hertz Global and grocery delivery app Instacart. Stripe, which has headquarters in San Francisco and Dublin, allows companies to accept payments, send payouts and automate financial processes. Pritam Biswas and Jaiveer Shekhawat, Reuters
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E-Commerce
FBI Director Kash Patel is considering bringing in trainers from the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to beef up agents’ martial arts and self-defense skills, according to four people familiar with the plan laid out on a call this week with FBI field offices. The newly appointed director discussed the idea during his first video conference call with the bureau’s 55 field office supervisors on Wednesday, said the people, who were granted anonymity to discuss the call’s contents because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Two people briefed on the matter said current FBI agents described the idea as “surreal” and “wacky.” The FBI declined to comment, and a spokesperson for UFC did not have an immediate comment. President Donald Trump is a fan of the sport, mixed martial arts bouts that pit two competitors against each other in a cage, and notably attended a UFC event in New York days after his November election victory, sitting with UFC President Dana White, who he counts as a close friend. During the call, Patel said that Dan Bongino, a far-right podcaster whom Trump tapped to be the FBI’s deputy director, is a huge UFC fan and that he inspired Patel to try the training, one of the people briefed on the call said. Patel added that he thinks it is great, and is exploring a partnership between the FBI and the UFC. “There is training the FBI receives in physical altercations. If Kash Patel believed that should be beefed up, the answer is not to go to Donald Trump’s best friend who runs the UFC,” a former Justice Department official said, when asked about Patel’s proposal. “It’s clearly motivated by the glitz and glamour show, and Trump’s friend,” said the official, who was granted anonymity out of concern about possible retribution. It was not immediately clear how any partnership would work. Patel has rattled the bureau since he was sworn in last week. One of his first acts was to call for some 1,500 FBI employees to be transferred from Washington to field offices around the country and an FBI office in Huntsville, Alabama. Patel telegraphed his plans to shake up the FBI’s operations in his book “Government Gangsters,” in which he called for moving headquarters out of Washington, D.C., and curbing the historical practice of requiring FBI agents who wish to serve in supervisory roles from doing 18-month stints at headquarters to gain experience. During Wednesday’s nationwide call with field offices, Patel reiterated his commitment to scaling back staffing at headquarters and re-distributing people into the field, two people familiar with the call said. He also said Bongino will begin visiting field offices immediately after he starts his new job in mid-March, one of the people added. Sarah N. Lynch, Reuters
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E-Commerce
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