The First Woman on the Moon Will Wear This Prada Spacesuit

The person who secured Prada’s front-row seat in the new space race is Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada Group Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Corporate Social Responsibility. He told Vogue via mail: “Partnering with Axiom Space has been an unprecedented journey. I am particularly proud of our teams who have worked to provide tailor-made solutions to increase astronauts’ comfort and flexibility.”

Photo: Courtesy of Prada

Photo: Courtesy of Prada

Photo: Courtesy of Prada

In the images unveiled today there is no Prada logo present to signal the Italian firm’s role in the spacesuit’s creation. Yet whether by accident or design (and it’s surely the latter), the powerfully-silhouetted suit features several striking red lines on its otherwise white surface. These echo the design motif of Prada’s Linea Rossa technical line, which was first developed to outfit its America’s Cup sailing team, Luna Rossa. In Italian, Luna Rossa translates as Red Moon.

According to a joint statement by the spacesuit’s co-creators, their collaboration was specifically focused on the equipment’s outer-layer design and material fabrication. Once on the moon, the suit will enable its astronaut wearers to “withstand extreme temperatures at the lunar south pole and endure the coldest temperatures in the permanently shadowed regions for at least two hours. Astronauts will be able to perform spacewalks for at least eight hours.”

Performance is the paramount design priority, but the release says that Prada has also contributed to shaping the look of what seems set to become one of the planet’s most recognizable outfits. It states that the Axiom engineers consulted the Italian fashion specialists on how to produce a suit that would “visually inspire future space exploration.” It added: “Prada’s expertise enabled advanced technologies and innovative sewing methods to bridge the gap between highly engineered functionality and an aesthetically appealing white outer layer.”