Luxury streetwear is officially here to stay
Today, Adidas and Prada announced a long-term partnership focused on “heritage, technology and innovation,” according to a release. It will be known as Prada for Adidas.
Few other details were revealed about the top-secret collaboration (which was teased on Instagram last week), however there will be two limited-edition styles released this year, one for men and one for women, in December.
WWD reports that the designs are said to “draw on the rich patrimony and iconography of both labels, representing a tribute to timeless classics. Originating in the realm of sport, transposed to street style and now translated to luxury, classics from each are here re-contextualized, visited anew.”
It is thought the products will include sustainable materials and innovation, given that both the German and Italian brands have placed increasing emphasis on using eco-friendly materials in their designs and developing business strategies around sustainability to help future-proof fashion and the environment. In fact, earlier this week Prada signed a first-in-industry sustainability-linked loan for 50 million euros (approximately CAD$73 million) across five years. According to reports, the loan’s interest rates can be adjusted yearly if three sustainability targets are met. These include stores being assigned a LEED Gold or Platinum certification, using a certain percentage of its nylon substitute, Re-Nylon, in production and training its employees on sustainability-related topics.
In a joint statement to WWD, the brands said, “The new vision draws inspiration from the rich legacies of both to reengineer timeless icons, and leverages the houses’ technological footprint to innovate. The path is an evolving and dynamic structure composed of key milestones, marking a significant departure from existing patterns while building on the houses’ strong milieu of shared approaches and pursuits.”
It also marks a particularly big milestone for Prada as this is the first time the brand has collaborated with another label on a project of this nature.