Green-minded Prada Re-nylon line pops up at Holt Renfrew

Sustainability has been a buzzword in fashion for quite some time now. And rightfully so.

As a resource-intensive and waste-heavy industry, it's imperative that it cleans up its act. Italian fashion brand Prada is playing a part in the green-minded look forward with its Re-nylon collection.

The Prada Re-nylon collection, which debuted in 2019 with a capsule collection of six “classic” styles, has been expanded this year to include footwear and accessories, as well as ready-towear designs for men and women. The enhanced offering is part of the company's overall “commitment to sustainable practice” that will see all of its virgin nylon items made from regenerated nylon by the end of 2021, according to a news release.

Prada introduced nylon into its luxury fashion collections with a backpack design in 1984. Focusing specifically on the company's use of nylon gaberdine and nylon Piuma (a featherweight textile with the feel of silk), the Re-nylon collection looks to make these selections more sustainable by crafting each from a textile that is 100 per cent regenerated.

Plastics are collected from the oceans, fishing nets, landfills and textile fibre waste outlets, according to the company, and are then recycled and purified before undergoing a depolymerization process before being polymerized again into a “range of yarns” called Econyl. For every 10,000 tonnes of regenerated nylon created, 70,000 barrels of petroleum are saved, according to the company.

The expanded Prada Re-nylon range includes men's sportswear garments, cocktail dresses for women, padded jackets, trousers and more.

The collection also features, for the first time, Re-nylon footwear, including a Monolith combat boot and sneakers styles. A variety of reimagined handbags and belt bags, including an archival Re-edition from 2000, have also been released.

The collection can be found through Nov. 2 at Holt Renfrew in Vancouver at a designated popup shop. The immersive space features a wide variety of collection pieces, as well as short films in black and white from a partnership between Prada and National Geographic shared on screens.