Prada expands Re-Nylon sustainable line

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Oct 16, 2020

The Milan fashion powerhouse has significantly expanded its Prada Re-Nylon selection this fall, offering ready-to-wear, footwear and accessories for men and women, underlining its growing commitment to a more sustainable business model.

Re-Nylon uses Econyl recycled nylon yarn, in an important evolution for Prada,  which has made multiple moves in the past year to become a more environmentally responsible corporation.

This spring, Prada sealed a second sustainability-linked loan with the Milan branch of Mizuho Bank, which followed a similar 50-million loan in 2019 with Credit Agricole. A key goal of both is to upgrade Prada Group stores to win a LEED Gold or Platinum Certification.

Re-Nylon debuted back in June 2019 with a collection of six bags for men and women; before ramping up to a broader concept includes women’s wear and menswear, all made from regenerated nylon.

Prada’s long-term aim is to enshrine Re-Nylon as the next step in sustainable luxury - a textile endlessly regenerated without loss of quality. All accessories and garments now feature the Prada Re-Nylon logo, the Prada triangular logo reworked as a punchy rotating arrow. Looking ahead, Prada plans to convert all its virgin nylon into regenerated nylon by the end of 2021.

Ever since the Prada backpack in nylon gabardine became a contemporary luxury icon over a quarter century ago, its unique fabric has become instantly recognizable. Hard-wearing yet lustrous, and woven on silk looms; while the brand’s nylon Piuma - Italian for feather – material is also a strikingly fine lightweight nylon with the feel of silk.

With Prada Re-Nylon, the two materials are reinvented for the 21st century - seen in ready-to-wear that fuses sportswear elements with luxury silhouettes. Highlights include slim-line tailored single-breasted overcoats for men, full-skirted and slender cocktail dresses and cocoon-coats for women, along with padded jackets, spots-detailed trousers and shorts, and t-shirts. Paying homage to the iconic 1984 Prada nylon backpack - the first step of nylon into luxury - dresses feature front-pockets, buckles and webbing shoulder-straps.

One of the world’s most influential accessory brands, Prada has also developed new iterations of its Monolith combat boots and shoes, and low- and high-top sneakers for the Re-Nylon footwear. Re-Nylon also includes belt-bags, backpacks, cross-body styles and an archival Re-Edition style drawn from 2000.

The house is sourcing the project from regenerated nylon created through the recycling and purification of plastic collected from oceans, fishing nets, landfills and textile fiber waste globally. Through a process of de-polymerization, purification and then transformation this material is recuperated and made into new nylon fabric.  By using Econyl, Prada hopes to reduce the contribution to global warming by up to 90% compared to virgin nylon yarn.

In addition, Prada has revamped flagships in New York, Beijing, Gangnam and Hong Kong to include multi-screen installations, video wallpaper and video arches to display the whole Re-Nylon concept, some of which was shot by National Geographic. The Prada Re-Nylon collection is already available in certain Prada boutiques worldwide; via prada.com and through selected retailers with special pop-up stores.