By Leah Goryachkovsky

Have you heard? Fashion innovation on Earth has become passe. In collaboration with Axiom Space, the leading provider of human spaceflight services and developer of human-rated space infrastructure, Prada is creating spacesuits for the next NASA astronauts to walk on the moon. 

You’ve probably seen Chanel tennis rackets or Dior skis, but designer spacewear is certainly a first. Prada is a fashion house rooted in perfecting leather goods, with Mario Prada founding it in 1913, selling bags, trunks, and travel accessories in Milan. Soon after, in 1919, Prada began servicing the Italian Royal House, showing they are no strangers to having influential clientele. 

In addition to an extensive portfolio of high-profile clientele, in 2020, Prada has also exhibited pushes for innovation through technological advancements in creating garments and interactions with their customers. Prada led the craze over VR customer experience with their various immersive applications available through Apple and Oculus. Prada adopted near-field communication (NFC) technology a year later to help its omnichannel experiences: an approach to user experience that focuses on the overall quality of interaction between customer and brand, not just a specific kind of exchange on a single channel. That same year, In 2021, the Italian brand presented its collections with immersive 360-degree VR. Dior famously made use of VR to create “Dior Eyes,” which offers a riveting look at behind-the-scenes footage of the brand’s ready-to-wear fashion show. The Prada Group paves the way for enhancing the customer experience with advanced technology that helps create a seamless *that was a pun* interaction between the brand and its consumers. To understand consumer engagement and relevancy, the Prada Group also adopted a Unified-CXM platform that tracked millions of mentions across nearly 200 topics and more than 70 custom dashboards last year. 

Beyond the technology implemented in customer experience, the Prada Group also focuses on technology in design. The most pertinent question of innovation within clothing design is how fashion houses can optimize the balance between functionality and art. After all, clothing is meant to be admired and worn; it goes beyond wearable garments. Miuccia Prada once remarked, “Clothes were never about doing clothes… it’s about living different parts of your personality.” When Miuccia Prada began styling clothing, she envisioned a conceptual take on uniforms geared more toward a provocative expression of self. The clothes were created to be worn in various iterations daily, with deep considerations of how they move with the body. With these considerations, what better fashion house is there to design for movement with the body in space?

And if most of you are like me, you’re probably wondering what Axiom Space is. Axiom Space is the leading provider of human spaceflight services and developer of human-rated space infrastructure. The company builds for a potential home in outer space, where all feel safe and welcome with their human-rated infrastructure. Axiom strives to create a platform to aid human existence in outer space by establishing a commercial space station. The Axiom Space spacesuits will be created to provide increased flexibility, greater protection to withstand the harsh environment, and specialized tools for exploration and scientific opportunities. As a company dedicated to the mission of the most efficient and innovative space exploration, Axiom will be assisting in the first crewed lunar landing since 1972. 

Prada comes into play because it bridges the gap between the daunting nature of space and the very tangible aspects of clothing and design. Michael Suffredini, CEO of Axiom Space stated, “Prada’s technical expertise with raw materials, manufacturing techniques, and innovative design concepts will bring advanced technologies instrumental in ensuring not only the comfort of astronauts on the lunar surface, but also the much-needed human factors considerations absent from legacy spacesuits.” In fact, Prada’s expertise with composite materials dates back to the 90s, when they founded the Luna Rossa yachting team to compete in the America’s Cup. The goal for the space suits will be efficiency in mobility, which is Prada’s specialty. No one knows how to craft a collection of fabrics to resemble a desirable uniform better than the Prada group. The outer layer of the suit is still unknown, but I suspect we can anticipate the infamous triangular logo peeking out in future lunar fit pics.