Throughout much of its history, Prada has been something of a luxury oxymoron. In its early days, while competing European fashion houses like Gucci and Louis Vuitton opted for brand-first, monogrammed insignia stretching across its products, Prada garnered attention through a more muted aura on the subject of symbolism. Although the brand sports a recognizable font and logo, in the world of high fashion excess its projection is still relatively humble. Take a recent example, like Frank Ocean turning heads at the 2019 ( still most recent) Met Gala where the artist, a branded recluse himself, wore nothing more than a nylon jacket within a sea of camp.
Through this ethos, alongside an intentional lack of collaborations, Prada’s core image has remained defined in a luxury ecosystem that often smashes a panic button when feeling a half-step behind.
“Doing fashion with men, I thought that they never wanted to exaggerate,” Miuccia Prada explained to GQ in 2019. “When it's too much ‘fashion,’ it's never right.”
Miuccia’s tendency for the conservative is apparent when looking through the brand’s menswear archives. Fabrics that aren’t top-of-mind when speaking luxury, like denim or the brand’s signature nylon, justify their place at an inelastic price point through their design. Prada’s steady menswear ship is defined by pieces that are wearable, comfortable, practical and therefore exceptionally withstanding to the test of time.
For our latest archive release, we are excited to introduce a capsule of vintage Prada pieces spanning collections from the brand over the past two decades. Vintage pieces like the Flame Mohair Sweater recall old-school flare from past eras while nylon additions in the form of trousers, overshirts and jackets bulk up our offerings of the quintessential and timeless Prada men's look.
In recent years, Prada’s garments have increasingly landed on pop culture figures whose ethos overlaps with the brand’s artistic values: Frank Ocean, A$AP Rocky, Timothee Chalamet, Jeff Goldblum. When it comes to menswear, Prada's designs spend more energy in simplifying the mystique of fashion rather than unnecessarily strutting it up, a sort of humble realism that when chewed over is alt-stylish in its own right.
“So many people say that beauty will save the world, but I don’t believe so," Miuccia explained at the conclusion of her AW18 men's show. "The world will be saved by intelligence and humanity and generosity—and possibly love. But of course the aesthetic world helps, a little.”
The full selection of archive Prada pieces is available to browse on our website and on the Seasons App. For more vintage designer items, check out our latest Fall Archive Designer capsule as well.
