Prada’s Spacesuit Tackles Fashion’s Final Frontier

Prada is turning the moonwalk into the catwalk. The Italian luxury fashion house has teamed up with aerospace company Axiom Space to design a new lineup of spacesuits for NASA‘s upcoming Artemis III mission. The exploratory journey, scheduled for September 2026, will mark the first time astronauts have visited the surface of the moon in over 50 years—more than enough reason to dress up for the occasion.

Revealed at the International Astronautical Congress in Milan overnight, the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) spacesuit fuses Prada‘s utilitarian design language with Axiom’s purpose-built construction. The outer-layer design and materials were produced through a joint development project between the two businesses, which was aimed at “blending creativity and engineering to enhance” the next-generation spacesuit design.

“Our elite teams have redefined spacesuit development, establishing new pathways to innovative solutions and applying a state-of-the-art design approach for the AxEMU,” Matt Ondler, Axiom Space president said. “We have broken the mould. The Axiom Space-Prada partnership has set a new foundational model for cross-industry collaboration, further expanding what’s possible in commercial space.”

What separates the new Prada spacesuit from previous iterations is the use of a single, foundational architecture. Axiom Space describes the structure as evolvable, scalable and adaptable for missions on the lunar surface and in low-Earth orbit (LEO). Prada’s design and product development team was responsible for providing customised material recommendations and innovative sewing methods to increase comfort while improving the materials’ performance.

At the unveiling event in Milan, the two companies revealed that the suit had been specifically designed to accommodate a wide range of crewmembers, including males and females from the first to 99th percentile. The design is capable of withstanding extreme temperatures at the lunar south pole, with Axiom claiming it can endure the coldest temperatures in the permanently shadowed regions for at least two hours.

Astronauts will also reportedly be able to perform spacewalks for at least eight hours, courtesy of a regenerable carbon dioxide scrubbing system and a “robust cooling technology”. Further additions include the integrated coatings on the helmet and visor, which have improved visibility, alongside a new glove design.

For Prada, the voyage to our closest celestial neighbour may seem a little out of left field, but it does speak to the brand’s unique functional approach. According to Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada Group chief marketing officer and head of corporate social responsibility, the decision was not commercial in nature, but rather a reflection of the pioneering “spirit of Prada”.

“Going beyond our limits is one of the company’s values that perfectly reflects the spirit of the Prada brand and my parents’ vision. I’m very proud of the result we’re showing today, which is just the first step in a long-term collaboration with Axiom Space,” Bertelli said. “We’ve shared our expertise on high-performance materials, features, and sewing techniques, and we learned a lot. I’m sure we’ll continue to explore new challenges, broaden our horizons, and build new scenarios together.”

Importantly, this isn’t the first we’ve heard of the Prada spacesuit project. In October 2023, Axiom announced the joint venture, providing a brief glimpse at the Artemis III design. The initial prototype featured a dark cover layer to conceal the suit’s proprietary technology. The company has since confirmed that the spacesuit worn on the lunar surface will be made from a white material that “reflects heat and protects astronauts from extremely high temperatures and lunar dust”.

Naturally, the AxEMU remains in the pre-production phase, however, Axiom Space claims that it is nearing the final development stage. This comes after the company completed simulations with a wide range of astronauts and engineers at its internal facility, as well as Artemis III partners SpaceX and NASA facilities. During testing, the spacesuit reportedly completed a successful pressurised simulation, marking the first test of its kind since the Apollo era.

The latest crossover between fashion and technology marks a unique turning point for the space exploration industry. Since being awarded its first Artemis tsk order in 2022, whihc was valued at USD$225 million, Axiom has leveraged expertise from the private sector, tapping into new industries in an effort to build its next-generation spacesuit, and it isn’t alone.

In 2017, SpaceX head Elon Musk reportedly hired Hollywood costume designer Jose Fernandez to work on the spacesuit for its inaugural Dragon mission, while Pierre Cardin teamed up with the European Space Agency to design the training suits for the new Luna simulation facility in Cologne.

With NASA’s private-public agreement allowing for greater external consultancy, it’s little wonder so many luxury brands are getting involved. After all, high fashion doesn’t get much higher than the moon. Make no mistake: A new space race is dawning and it’s going to be a very fashionable affair.