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Prada and Nylon: A Tale of Style and Ecology

By Marine Poyer | February 9, 2022

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If we've known that the devil wears Prada since 2003, it had somehow still escaped us that the devil happened to be making some fairly eco‐friendly choices. Conscious of production's environmental impact, the Italian label recently pledged to replace its beloved nylon textiles with Econyl, a greener alternative. A look back on a small revolution made of the strongest threads.

An essential ingredient

Louis Vuitton's monogrammed canvas, Chanel's tweed, Courrège's PVC ? it isn't rare for a brand to appropriate (or even update, as was the case for Burberry and gabardine) a given material. At Prada, where Saffiano leather quickly became a trademark, nylon also lost no time in securing its place as one of the label's favored textiles, thanks to Miuccia Prada.

In 1984, just six years after having taken up the brand founded by her grandfather Mario in 1913, the former Political Science student revisited the codes of her legacy. That year, she introduced the Vela backpack, a chic and unexpected silhouette made of weather-resistant Pocone nylon, with a satin finish and unparalleled lightness and flexibility. It was an aloof first offering, but an event nonetheless. It would be followed four years later by Prada's first clothing line, which also included several pieces in nylon. If some were skeptical ? this was a period in which luxury was first and foremost the weight of leather and other fine materials ? Miuccia Prada wasn't bothered. "All of a sudden, nylon seemed to me more interesting than luxe materials," she would explain a few years later. "I decided to put it on the catwalk, and it challenged and even changed traditional and conservative notions of luxury. I'm still obsessed with it." And she's not the only one: today nylon is an essential textile at many a fashion house, no longer reserved for accessories and employed instead in dresses, blouses, pants, skirts, and t-shirts. Intrinsically linked to Prada's look, today it's one of its most recognizable signifiers. In other words, nylon has become the basis of a wardrobe that's modern, cool, and more recently, eco-responsible.

From Nylon to Re-Nylon

If the allure of Prada's nylon pieces spoke for itself, their environmental impact left something to be desired at a time when the fashion industry had come under more scrutiny than ever before due to its environmental footprint. Like any self-respecting luxury label, Prada did some soul-searching and returned with a greener conscience, promising to progressively replace traditional nylon with Econym. Produced by Aquafil, this recycled fiber is obtained from existing nylon deadstock as well as plastic waste collected from the world's oceans and transformed, thanks to advances in eco-technologies. Plus, it can be recycled over and over again, without degrading the fabric's quality. And the numbers back it up: 10,000 tons of Econyl produced equals 70,000 barrels of petroleum saved.

Unveiled in 2019 and dubbed Prada Re-Nylon, the label's first line in the material comprised six unisex pieces and hearkened to a more environmental future. "Our ultimate goal will be to convert all Prada virgin nylon into Re-Nylon by the end of 2021," explained Lorenzo Bertelli, Director of Sustainable Development and Social Responsibility at the Prada Group. "This project highlights our continued efforts towards promoting a responsible business. This collection allows us to make our contribution and create products without using new resources." But that's not all ? thanks to the super-recyclable nature of Prada Re-Nylon, the commitment goes further than a business trend. Prada backed this up last year: "This daring decision represents a new step in the way we perceive luxury, as was Prada's first use of nylon. It permitted the invention of a luxury that was modern and industrial, and Re-Nylon is its newest iteration. This line transforms more than just production methods but also the final product, which itself is no longer final. Re-Nylon is more than a luxury idea, it is an ideology ? at once sustainable and truly responsible."

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