Written By: Khansaa Houlbi
Inside Prada’s Couleur Vivante fine jewelry collection and its vivid gemstone palette.
Intentionality. A single word, although hardly a small one, and just enough to describe the sensation of stepping into Prada’s new fine jewelry chapter. The collection is called Couleur Vivante and vivante it truly is. Launched in late 2025 as the sophomore expression of Prada’s fine jewelry ambitions, the house has moved from last year’s meditation on gold to a full-blown study of color. Not color as decoration, but color in its purest, most uncompromising state, shaped by the harmonies, symbioses and contradictions that define Prada’s chromatic vocabulary. Conceived by Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons, the collection explores dualities and unexpected nuances through gemstones chosen not for convention but for the way they inhabit a distinctly Prada spectrum. Amythyst, aquamarine, madeira citrine, pink morganite and oro-verde peridot emerge as vivid protagonists, selected for the precision of its hue, and presented in a way that challenges long-held assumptions about preciosity.
Courtesy of Prada
We first saw this instinct for contrast at the Spring Summer 2026 Prada show, where the jewelry debuted among a wardrobe oscillating between evening wear, uniform and everything in between. Tension was not treated as conflict but rather as a statement of creativity. The clothes adapted and shifted like an unfolding narrative, reinventing themselves in real time, and the jewels, alive in their saturated color, echoed that call for adaptability. They felt precious, yes, but not precious in the restrictive sense. Instead, they felt like companions for everyday life, ready to settle beside denim or cotton as confidently as silk.
Courtesy of Prada
Courtesy of Prada
Courtesy of Prada
The philosophy of the collection becomes clear the moment you see the pieces up close. A pair of peridot earrings shaped in the iconic Prada triangle sets the tone immediately. The vivid green brightens the sharp lines of the form and makes it clear that color leads the design rather than simply decorating it. The necklaces and bracelets follow the same spirit. Their pastel pairing and gentle contrasts place color at the forefront and give each piece a presence while allowing each hue the room to make its own statement. Every stone is chosen for the quality of its color and the mood it brings, which reinforces the idea at the heart of Couleur Vivante: color is an integral part of the design.
The craftsmanship strengthens that proposition. Taking the necklaces and bracelets as an example, what first appears to be a classic tennis silhouette shifts under closer study, its peridot links falling into a disciplined cadence and the suiffés cut creating a glide that feels almost liquid. These structural choices are not decorative; they allow the stones to shine bright in their most authentic color. This precision is also particularly evident in the Prada cut. As Jewelry Director Timothy Iwata explains, traditional settings hide pigment loss at a stone’s corners, but that would contradict the collection’s devotion to color in it purest form. Instead, clasps are placed at the sides, preserving the full chromatic face of the triangle. It is a technical adjustment, but also a conceptual statement.
Courtesy of Prada
Courtesy of Prada
Courtesy of Prada
Courtesy of Prada
The precision extends into sustainability. After last year’s Eternal Gold, crafted entirely from certified recycled gold, Couleur Vivante continues Prada’s commitment to radical transparency. Each piece is recorded on the Aura Consortium blockchain, and each gemstone’s transformation from rough to its final cut is documented visually. Independent gemological certificates accompany every stone, part of the collection’s architecture of truth.
All of this is crystallized in Dubai, where the collection’s physical presentation felt like stepping into Prada’s subconscious. At the One&Only Za’abeel, two lacquered black wooden doors opened into a space where wooden and glass vitrines glowed flashes of purple, pink, and blue visible even from afar, as it is housing the Couleur Vivante collection. A turn toward the windows revealed the crystalline skyline of Dubai; turn back and the room softened into an intimate 1920s-inspired salon wrapped in champagne velvet. Prada mannequins sat in vivid shades, poised as silent witnesses to the chromatic world unfolding. And in the most intimate detail of all, the vitrines were Miuccia Prada’s own, brought specifically for the presentation, a gesture that made the space feel not staged but intimately curated.
Because when Miuccia Prada welcomes you, whether through a silhouette, a handbag or a gemstone, she does so with intention. She is also offering a lens through which to reconsider the familiar. Couleur Vivante carries that invitation forward. A collection that treats color not as garnish but as ideology. A study in contrasts that reshapes what we consider precious. Jewelry that feels timeless and classic, yet unmistakably alive and subversive. And in the end, with Prada, everything seems to return to one principle: intentionality.
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