Nylon has a longstanding history with Prada, stretching back several decades. It is the label's defining material, used in everything from bucket hats to ties and bags.

Pocono and Prada

Founded in 1913, Prada initially sold various types of imported trunks and leather goods. The brand's relevancy in the fashion sphere didn't come about until Miucci Prada came into the family business. Inheriting the brand from her family in 1978, Miucci had a PhD in Social Science, and so it seemed unlikely she would drastically change the label. Along with her business partner Patrizio Bertelli managing the operations, Miucci was free to pursue her creative vision.

Not long after in 1984, Miucci released what would be a game changing collection. This collection consisted of backpacks and tote bags, but what made them eye-catching was the material. These were made of Pocono, a military grade nylon fabric Miucci took a liking to after noticing it being used to make military tents and covers for steam trunks imported by her predecessors. Repurposing this utilitarian material into the main component of this collection was definitely a bold move, especially considering that nylon does not have luxurious connotations in the public eye at the time.

However, this collection did not receive much traction at first, but slowly began taking over the fashion zeitgeist about a decade later, and thus began nylon's tenure as Prada's signature material.

Bags to Blouses

The usage of nylon from Miucci's iconic collection informed the brand's aesthetic as being a luxury label with a focus on utilitarianism and industrialism, a dark horse when compared to houses such as Louis Vuitton or Hermes. Pocono continued to be Miucci's material of choice for accessories, and as Prada began introducing its ready to wear collection, the material was presented with fresh opportunity.

The notion of Prada's "anti-luxury luxury" originating in the aforementioned bag collection carried over to the Ready to Wear collections since their inception. The nylon material was seen incorporated into both Mens' and Women's collections during the mid-90s, introducing the material into silhouettes traditionally made with tweed, velvet and cotton among others. As the 90s was defined by minimalism, the muted colour palettes and use of this nylon material allowed Prada to be one of the era-defining houses.

Re-Nylon

Nowadays, nylon is still heavily in use at Prada, but several things have changed in response to growing environmental concern and corporate social responsibility. Nylon is a thermoplastic polymer originating from petroleum, which is a fossil fuel. It is without saying that this process greatly damages the environment, and as consumers place more pressure for high fashion to be more sustainable, Prada adapted, and thus came Prada Re-nylon in 2019.

Prada partnered with Italian textiles firm Aquafil to produce Econyl, a nylon material that claims to be infinitely recyclable, and is made from plastic waste across landfills and oceans. The Prada Group cites that this saves 70,000 barrels of petroleum and reduces carbon dioxide by 65,100 tonnes. This material is now used in all of their nylon products.

The introduction of Econyl further consolidates Prada's forward thinking in aspects of its brands that goes beyond just design. In 2020, Raf Simons was appointed as Co-Creative Director along with Miucci Prada, and judging from their collections since, the fashion house has doubled down on its design ethos all while continuing to implement nylon in innovative ways.