In a bid to further their sustainability commitments, Adidas and Prada have partnered to give the sportswear giant’s apparel a Re-Nylon makeover for the first time.
It’s been nearly three years since Italian luxury house Prada and German sportswear giant Adidas first announced their plans for long-term collaboration. And for the first time, the partnership features reimagined classic Adidas apparel, including tracksuits, in Prada’s sustainable Re-Nylon material.
Details about the campaign launch are being kept secret until next week, but the brands said in a joint statement that the partnership will “celebrate the inherently innovative spirit of their latest collection with a unique digital activation, bringing brands and people together in a radically inclusive manner. Collaborative by nature, fans of the collection will be invited to participate in the metaverse with Adidas and Prada through open-source co-creation.”
Re-Nylon
The collection features apparel for the first time, including iconic Adidas tracksuits and jackets, sweaters, hooded jackets, and bucket hats. The collaboration also includes shoes. All are done in Prada’s signature Re-Nylon material in a black and white colorway. The collection also features half-a-dozen bags including backpacks, shopping bags, and a travel bag, as well as a bandoleer, belt bag, and BP hoodie.
“This partnership is not just about product: it is about a philosophy,” Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada’s group marketing director and head of corporate social responsibility, said in a statement. “At Prada, our values are fundamentally founded in people, planet and culture, an ideology Adidas shares. This latest collection is a showcase for a fusion of the technical innovation and innate knowledge of performance sportswear synonymous with Adidas, and the luxury vision of Prada — yet it also speaks wider. It connects with evolutions in our ideas of luxury, changes in the mindset of consumers, and shifts in the world at large. It is about looking forwards, and thinking of the future.”
Re-Nylon, dreamed up by the head of the label, Miuccia Prada, is made from Econyl, a regenerated nylon yarn that can be indefinitely recycled without degrading its quality. Aquafil, an Italian synthetic fabrics company, makes the yarn for the label using discarded plastic recovered from landfills and oceans. The luxury label fully shifted all of its nylon to the recycled material at the end of last year.
Prada x Adidas
‘’We’re extremely proud of our latest collaborative project with Prada. Over the course of the partnership, we’ve spent time collaboratively reinterpreting each other’s iconic functional and aesthetic codes. We’ve continuously sought to blend our sporting heritage with Prada’s unmatched legacy of expert craftsmanship — each time seeking to push the boundaries of creativity and innovation,” said Torben Schumacher, general manager at Adidas Originals.
Schumacher says that while launching the collaboration with shoes was a natural starting point, the evolution of the partnership speaks to their aligned sustainability goals.
“It’s important to point this out as it marks yet another milestone for both brands. What’s really crucial here, with this particular stage in the collaboration, is a statement of intent with regards to our shared commitment to sustainable innovation,” Schumacher said. “Leveraging Prada’s newly refashioned Re-Nylon textile, the capsule collection acts as an exploration of the innovative possibilities offered by more sustainable textiles. We absolutely see this as an opportunity to show that luxury, creativity and craftsmanship can be, and should be, created in a manner that is better for our planet.”
Both Adidas and Prada are leading the fashion industry’s sustainable shift; Prada has a comprehensive sustainability roadmap, which includes several recent debt rounds to assist with its initiatives across materials, production, and retail.
Adidas has ambitious goals; the brand was one of the first to bring recycled or bio-based materials to its shoes. It’s collaborated with Parley for the Oceans and Stella McCartney to bring sustainable design to its popular Stan Smith sneakers. The label is aiming to reduce its carbon footprint by 30 percent by 2030. And by 2050, it’s aiming to achieve carbon neutrality.
The new collection launches on January 13th globally in Prada boutiques and on Prada’s and Adidas’ online shops. It will also feature a dedicated campaign and digital activation.