The uniform staple gets a *subtle* makeover on this season's runways.

Is it a flower? Is it a brooch? No, it’s a tie! For Prada’s recently debuted Fall ‘23 collection, models traipsed down the runway clad in shirts that blurred the line between masculine and feminine thanks to the subtle addition of one detail: a tie. Embellished with a tactile, floral motif present throughout the collection, the “ties” snake delicately through the shirts' collars and seemingly disappear into the buttoned placket. Designers Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons noted that the entire collection merged the rigidity of the uniform with the beauty of occasionwear. How better to do so than with a tie rendered in militaristic neutrals and camouflaged as a flower?

The flower-embellished ties at Prada; Photo: Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images Days later, Bottega Veneta's Matthieu Blazy showed a different interpretation of a similar idea: felted, wool-collared shirts with corresponding ties—this time around the necks of male models. The result is an oddly intriguing softening of the stiff gentleman's uniform. (Additionally, Prada showed matching ties sans the floral accouterment on male models. Though it’s worth noting they each also sported a dress.) The felted wool ties shown at Bottega Veneta; Photos: Courtesy of Bottega Veneta “I’ve always been attracted to the idea of traditional garments in the way that they can be so ritualistic, and how uniforms provide rules to reference and to break,” New York designer Daniella Kallmeyer explains to contextualize the matter at hand. The queer designer has made a name for her eponymous brand by artfully molding historical archetypes of tailoring into silhouettes fit for modern women. She first showed matching shirts and ties in her label's Pre-Fall ‘23 collection. This Fall '23 season, Kallmeyer skewed even more feminine with a fitted silhouette and subtle floral motif. A matching tie in Kallmeyer's Pre-Fall '23 collection; Photos: Courtesy of Kallmeyer A matching tie in Kallmeyer's Fall '23 collection; Photo: Austin Sandhaus; Courtesy of Kallmeyer "The aesthetic of a self-matching tie is cheeky and lighthearted,” she explains. “The function of a self-matching tie is easily wearable and digestible as an introduction to a style new for many of our customers.” The ties in question come with the shirts but are detachable, [and] secured through a small loop beneath the collar. "It is masculine and feminine at once,” she likens these matching ties to her design ethos. “Immaculate and effortless at the same time.” A far departure from last year's exaggerated shapes at Louis Vuitton, these cravats don't feel satirical. They instead offer a wearable interpretation of this accessory steeped in history. Closer in nature to Hedi Slimane's signature skinny ties, done both during his tenure at Saint Laurent and Celine, the ties are slim. The materials blend in and require a double take to be sure another layer of fabric even exists. So subtle, in fact, that in the case of Prada, I had to confirm with their team that this, in fact, was a tie at all. Want more stories like this? The Most Practical Inspiration From Men's Fashion Week It's Time to Reimagine Fishnet Tights It's All in the Details

The flower-embellished ties at Prada;

Photo: Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

Days later, Bottega Veneta's Matthieu Blazy showed a different interpretation of a similar idea: felted, wool-collared shirts with corresponding ties—this time around the necks of male models. The result is an oddly intriguing softening of the stiff gentleman's uniform. (Additionally, Prada showed matching ties sans the floral accouterment on male models. Though it’s worth noting they each also sported a dress.)

The felted wool ties shown at Bottega Veneta;

Photos: Courtesy of Bottega Veneta

“I’ve always been attracted to the idea of traditional garments in the way that they can be so ritualistic, and how uniforms provide rules to reference and to break,” New York designer Daniella Kallmeyer explains to contextualize the matter at hand. The queer designer has made a name for her eponymous brand by artfully molding historical archetypes of tailoring into silhouettes fit for modern women. She first showed matching shirts and ties in her label's Pre-Fall ‘23 collection. This Fall '23 season, Kallmeyer skewed even more feminine with a fitted silhouette and subtle floral motif.

A matching tie in Kallmeyer's Pre-Fall '23 collection;

A matching tie in Kallmeyer's Fall '23 collection;

Photo: Austin Sandhaus; Courtesy of Kallmeyer

"The aesthetic of a self-matching tie is cheeky and lighthearted,” she explains. “The function of a self-matching tie is easily wearable and digestible as an introduction to a style new for many of our customers.” The ties in question come with the shirts but are detachable, [and] secured through a small loop beneath the collar. "It is masculine and feminine at once,” she likens these matching ties to her design ethos. “Immaculate and effortless at the same time.”

A far departure from last year's exaggerated shapes at Louis Vuitton, these cravats don't feel satirical. They instead offer a wearable interpretation of this accessory steeped in history. Closer in nature to Hedi Slimane's signature skinny ties, done both during his tenure at Saint Laurent and Celine, the ties are slim. The materials blend in and require a double take to be sure another layer of fabric even exists. So subtle, in fact, that in the case of Prada, I had to confirm with their team that this, in fact, was a tie at all.

Want more stories like this?

The Most Practical Inspiration From Men's Fashion Week It's Time to Reimagine Fishnet Tights It's All in the Details