Prada’s Linea Rossa sportswear line is back

Prada is launching a revamped version of its Linea Rossa ('red line') sportswear collection. Just over twenty years after Linea Rossa first appeared, in 1997, sporting its famous logo consisting of a thin red line on the collar or the front of the clothes, the collection is back centre-stage again, with a wholly redesigned look.

The line had initially been conceived as ultra technical and supremely functional, and was chiefly made in nylon, a signature material for the Milanese luxury label led by Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli. And while the high-tech features are still predominant, with an even stronger focus on performance and innovation, its style has taken a more contemporary direction.

The line has been freshened up and rejuvenated, and consists of unisex items with a minimalistic, streamlined design and a high-impact colour palette, alternating shades of grey with highly saturated colours such as fluorescent pink, pistachio green, bright orange, etc.

The ad campaign devised for the relaunch emphasises the label’s new, definitely fresher and more radical aesthetics. It consists of a series of videos produced under the creative supervision of New York agency Michael Rock/2x4 New York, directed by Arisu Kashiwagi and with Lotta Volkova (who notably worked for Vetements and Balenciaga) in charge of styling.

Linea Rossa was very popular at the end of the 1990s and in the early 2000s, riding the sporting success of Luna Rossa, the sailing yacht owned by Prada’s boss Patrizio Bertelli, which at the time was competing in the world’s top yachting regatta, the America’s Cup. Later, Linea Rossa lost much of its appeal, and stayed alive chiefly through some basic items and accessories, such as sunglasses.

The group now plans for Linea Rossa to regain a prominent position, and the line stole the limelight at Prada’s show last February. In a press release, Prada underlined that the collection offers “a complete wardrobe, from outerwear to footwear to items designed expressly with the requirements of specific activities, like skiing or snowboarding, in mind.” Linea Rossa is indeed “a well-defined, independent range within [Prada’s] main line, a new facet of the Prada world.”

For the revival of its sportswear line, Prada is planning an emphatic launch. It will all kick off on Saturday September 8 in New York, with a gala evening at the label’s Broadway boutique. Linea Rossa will then tour Asia, starring in a series of special events: on September 12 in Hong Kong, on September 13 in Shanghai at the Prada Rong Zhai cultural venue (where a pop-up store will open from September 15 to 29) and on September 14 in Tokyo, at the Prada store in the Aoyama district.

In Paris, the new collection will be showcased with a special installation at the rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré store from September 24. In the course of September, the collection will also become available at all Prada stores, on the label’s e-shop and at selected departments stores.

Nylon will be Linea Rossa’s signature material, and the collection should be priced more competitively than Prada’s main ready-to-wear lines, attracting a younger clientèle and broadening the brand’s appeal. To boost sales, Prada will also rely on its sixth America’s Cup participation, for the event’s 36th edition, whose finals will be held in Auckland, New Zealand, in March 2021.

The Prada group has also acquired the image rights for the event’s preliminary regattas, for the Challenger Selection Series and the America’s Cup Match. The Challenger Selection Series, whose sponsor since 1983 was Louis Vuitton, have now officially been renamed as the Prada Cup.

Prada’s Linea Rossa sportswear line is back

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