Prada will take the world of fashion to places never before explored by a brand: outer space. The luxury brand will participate in the development of space suits for the Artemis III mission, NASA. The “looks of the day” will be used by astronauts who, if everything goes well, will set foot on the Moon.
The announcement of the luxury brand’s participation was made by Axiom Space, the company responsible for leading the project.
Prada engineers will work together with the responsible team at the company’s headquarters, which is located in Texas, United States. The objective of this partnership is to create the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU), that is, the spacesuit.
The equipment needs to have specific characteristics in order to provide the necessary capacity for exploring the Moon. The suits will be created based on an old project, the xEMU. It’s as if it were an evolution that brings more flexibility, mobility and protection to astronauts.
This project will also serve as the basis for the next generation of equipment, which will probably be used in other space missions, so it will serve to scientific tests.
Image: Reproduction
Partnership may have impasses
So far, it is known that Prada will be responsible for creating the design of the costume prototypes. Axiom Space CEO, Michael Suffredini, explained that the brand’s experts will create solutions that have the ability to provide protection against the hostile conditions found both in space and on the Moon.
Prada’s experience with raw materials, manufacturing techniques and design concepts innovative designs will bring advanced technologies fundamental to ensuring not only the comfort of astronauts on the lunar surface, but also the much-needed human factors considerations absent from spacesuits.
But why Prada, anyway?
You probably found it strange that a fashion brand was linked to the creation of a space suit so specific. However, it is important to highlight that the brand has a lot of experience in more ingenious challenges like this.
The brand’s marketing director, Lorenzo Bertelli, recalled that the brand participated in the creation of uniforms for countless sailing teams around the world.
“Our decades of experimentation, cutting-edge technology and design knowledge – which began in the 1990s with Luna Rossa challenging the America’s Cup – will now be applied to the design of a spacesuit for the Artemis era. It is a true celebration of the power of human creativity and innovation to advance civilization,” says Bertelli.
