Miuccia Prada transformed her family firm from a small leather goods concern into fashion power house with a line of sleek Pocone nylon backpacks. For her Fall/Winter 2018 collection Prada went back to the future, recruiting an impressive list of co-designers – Rem Koolhaas, Herzog & de Meuron, Konstantin Grcic and Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec – to design special edition pieces using the house’s signature black nylon for the ‘PRADA Invites’ collaboration.
Rem Koolhaas design a frontpack. “This project proposes a reinterpretation of the backpack, more suitable to the contemporary urban citizen. 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.”
Herzog & de Meuron found inspiration in the power of language. “Text is perceived as design, pattern, or decoration, comparable to the once potent symbols and signs, now tattooed onto human bodies without number. 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.”
“The key reference for my proposal is the fishing vest, representing the idea of a bag as a garment. My first thought was to recreate Joseph Beuys’ famous fishing vest in Prada Black Nylon. Later, I worked on two models, which interpret the theme in a more abstract way: Apron and Hood.” – Konstantin Grcic
“I’ve always liked the profiles of people – architects, painters and students – walking around with art folders; the movement of that rectangle, its clear-cut, fixed geometry contrasting with the moving bodies. This project takes that geometry and instils it in a shoulder bag, with its inside gusset, low fastening, elastic bands and eyelet, and use of a single colour, which produces a subtle graphical playfulness.” – Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec
PRADA Invites is available in select stores worldwide including Prada Miami Design District, Beverly Hills and Broadway (designed by Rem Koolhass).
