Italian fashion house Prada unveiled a new inner-layer garment designed for NASA astronauts on June 7, 2026, at its Manhattan store. The garment features knitted ventilation tubes built into the fabric to aid liquid cooling and ventilation during moon missions [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6].
The garment was developed in collaboration with Houston-based space infrastructure company Axiom Space. Jonathan Cirtain, Axiom’s CEO, said expertise for space exploration products "can come from lots of seemingly unrelated industries," highlighting Prada's broad capabilities [1]. Prada’s Chief Marketing Officer Lorenzo Bertelli stated, "We have a broad spectrum of capability and know-how" in building the Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment [2].
Prada first revealed a spacesuit in 2024 intended for NASA's Artemis 4 moon landing mission, currently projected for 2028. The inner-layer garment complements that suit and is planned for use during Artemis 4. Prada’s 2024 spacesuit is also expected to be worn during Artemis 3 lunar orbit mission in 2027 [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6].
Unlike other luxury brands that have drawn inspiration from space, Prada is the first major brand to form an actual partnership within the space industry. Academic and fashion expert Thomai Serdari noted, "Prada has gone beyond inspiration into an actual partnership as the space exploration and tourism industries develop" [1].
Prada’s interest in space aligns with targeting affluent customers exploring space travel and positioning itself at the forefront of innovation in luxury [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. Other apparel companies have engaged with space projects, such as Under Armour partnering with Virgin Galactic and Columbia Sportswear working with Intuitive Machines on space fabric tech [s1-s6].
The luxury sector has struggled recently and showed some stabilization until disrupted by the Iran war that began at the end of February 2026, affecting travel spending [1, 2, 3]. Luca Solca, head of luxury at research firm Bernstein, said, "The resumption of space exploration and human travel to the moon is bound to attract a lot of eyeballs. Luxury brands need to stay relevant and visible" [2].
Some other top luxury brands like Louis Vuitton, Hermes, and Chanel are interested in space-related markets but pursue different strategies. Serdari said, "You will never see the top luxury brands imitate each other" [4, 5, 6].
NASA’s Artemis 4 mission, planned for 2028, will be the first to use Prada’s spacesuit and inner-layer ventilation garment on the lunar surface [s1-s6]. Prada’s partnership with Axiom Space marks a rare collaboration bridging high fashion and space technology.
