Prada and Axiom Space have announced they’ll be collaborating on the spacesuits to be worn during the upcoming Artemis III mission.
Slated for 2025, this crewed lunar landing — the first of its kind overseen by NASA since Apollo 17 — also marks the inaugural partnership between a provider of commercial space systems and a fashion label of Prada’s renown.
It is widely believed the basis of this collab will be Axiom’s Extravehicular Mobility Unit. An existing design for the final version of the Prada spacesuits, the “AxEMU” is itself a legacy product — conceived around NASA systems that “will enable more exploration of the lunar surface than ever before.”
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As for Prada, the Italian powerhouse is in a unique position to bring its characteristic strain of forward-thinking design into outer space as explained by Lorenzo Bertelli, the brand’s Group Marketing Director.
“Our decades of experimentation, cutting-edge technology and design know-how — which started back in the ’90s with Luna Rossa challenging for the America’s Cup — will now be applied to the design of a spacesuit for the Artemis era,” said Bertelli.
“We are [honoured] to be a part of this historic mission with Axiom Space.”
According to a statement by Axiom CEO Michael Suffredini, Prada’s remit in relation to the new Artemis spacesuits will encompass “raw materials,” “manufacturing techniques,” and intriguingly, what he refers to as “the much-needed human factors absent from legacy spacesuits.”
Right now, what that effectively entails is anybody’s guess. In the meantime, you can get a crash course in Prada’s long-running association with high-end “performancewear” by exploring all of the latest additions to its Linea Rossa collection.
