Oh the things we could do with Prada Black Nylon. We would cover everything and anything in our lives in it. Practical and chic. This was the brief given to artists Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, Konstantin Grcic, Herzog & de Meuron and Rem Koolhaas (above). “Create an item using the Black Nylon fabric, the Prada Icon.” And so each of the artists got into their Prada labs, thinking, creating and producing the ‘Prada Invites’ products, that were first shown in the Autumn/ Winter 2018 Menswear show in January. We saw all that new nylon a few months ago and now an insight into how each product came about makes up the campaign, with collages of superimposed sketches and samples. Here is the lowdown on who created what, and why:
The Bouroullec brothers created a geometric shoulder bag, so sharp and sleek with the hint of a single colour, a “graphical playfulness,” as referred to by Ronan Bouroullec. Konstantin Grcic interpreted the Black Nylon into a garment that is also a bag. Grcic genius. “The key reference for my proposal is the fishing vest…” he said. “My first thought was to recreate Joseph Beuys’ famous fishing vest in Prada Black Nylon.” Oh so clever. Rem Koolhaas reinvented the backpack for 2018, “orthagonal devices” friendly. “This project proposes a reinterpretation of the backpack, more suitable to the contemporary urban citizen,” Koolhaas explains. “It is carried on the front; its contents are at any time accessible to the wearer. It is divided in compartments, dimensioned to accommodate the devices that enable modern life to unfold, easily unpacked through convenient openings.” Practical, convenient and a look.
Herzog & de Meuron (whom Miuccia collaborated with on the setting for the recent Resort ’19 show) focused on language, creating a series of tops in thin nylon with pieces of text sourced from books and tattoos. “Text is perceived as design, pattern, or decoration, comparable to the once potent symbols and signs, now tattooed onto human bodies without number,” Herzog and de Meuron said. “Language, words, entire passages as ornamental tattoos? The language that we encounter here is like an archaeological find, as fascinating to us as ancient scrolls or coins because we sense that its time is running out.” That it is. Time is running out to get our hands on the first ever Black Nylon collaboration. Prada history in the making.
