After Prada recently announced that it was going to ban the use of fur in collections from 2020, it became clear that the Italian fashion house is the latest luxury label to join the sustainable bandwagon. Following in the footsteps of Chanel, Kering, LVMH and a recent polo collection by Ralph Lauren, Prada has unveiled a pioneering new line of bags made of recycled plastic waste.
The bags featured in the ‘Re-Nylon’ collection will be produced from synthetic nylon fabrics made out of ocean plastic, fishing nets and textile fibre waste. The fashion house has pledged to use only reclaimed nylon in products by 2021.
What will the collection look like?
Prada’s ‘Re-Nylon’ collection will include six bags for both men and women, including a tote bag, a belt bag, a shoulder bag and two backpacks, made from ECONYL® nylon. ECONYL® is a form of textile yarn, obtained through the recycling and purification process of plastic waste from the ocean, and has already been adopted by eco conscious brands such as Stella McCartney.
Lorenzo Bertelli, head of marketing and communication at Prada Group, told Business of Fashion that the team hopes to inspire other luxury labels to “move towards more sustainable manufacturing approaches” as a result of the new line. He explains,
“It’s a massive reduction of nylon and a big impact in terms of sustainability. We want to do things not just for marketing reasons, but seriously, in big numbers.”
The whole collection is environmentally friendly and reflects the forward-thinking ethos of the luxury fashion house, who are re-branding the very essence of Prada with this radical new line. Citing invention, experimentation and progress as its values looking forward, we can expect big things in the future and a firm focus on sustainability guaranteed.
Miuccia Prada herself states, “focusing on innovative materials will allow the company to explore new boundaries of creative design while meeting the demand for ethical products.”
