Last week it was announced that Prada will design NASA’s lunar spacesuits for the Artemis III mission. The Italian brand is working with the commercial space company, Axiom, on the project.
At first blush, you could easily imagine space suits that would be fit for an Instagramable luxury haul. And then you might ask, “Why in the world would you ask Prada to do this?”
As odd as it might seem that an international luxury fashion brand would design space suits, surely you can see the logic here. For starters, a space suit is just a piece of clothing, albeit for an extremely technical purpose. Prada is full of expertise in designing clothing and developing textiles. And of course, this will all be in connection with the scientists of Axiom. Perhaps the brand’s Luna Rosa Challenge was more absurd, with their design of a boat to participate in the America’s Cup. That seems like more of a stretch given it had nothing to do with clothing.
Making my own guess, beyond getting their name in the news more often, this has huge benefits for Prada. Undoubtedly, this is a huge stretch assignment that will push their creativity and could lead to a huge boost to the brand. The work they do in creating the space suits can lead to technical innovations in their use of textiles. All of the rejected sketches can be repurposed in to designs for future collections. This project can lead to a new point of view that would breathe new life into the brand and might shift its trajectory.
I, for one, don’t see this as a laughable gimmick at all but a smart business move. I am looking forward to what comes of this and can’t wait to see the debut of the new suits.
For more information on the partnership, see the Axiom press release.
(I just want to note how difficult it was for me to avoid space puns throughout the entirety of this post. You’re welcome.)
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