Prada to offer exclusive menswear collection on Mr Porter
The range is inspired by bowling culture, and includes two-toned fabrics and cap-toe footwear, writes Panna Munyal
The bowling alley is unlikely to be your first stop when you’re looking for fashion inspiration, but an upcoming collaboration between Prada and Mr Porter takes the game as its reference point.
The Italian luxury label has created a ready-to-wear capsule collection that will be exclusively available on the portal, making this the first time a Prada line will be stocked exclusively through a single online retail partner.
The 32-piece edit draws on the bowling culture of the 1950s through to the 1980s, an era when the game was a popular pastime in many parts of the world. Fashionwise, it was the time of Hawaiian shirts, checks and stripes, twotoned fabrics and cap-toe footwear.
Accordingly, offerings include mid-century-style block-panelled stripe cardigans and stripe-knit T-shirts; blouson jackets in satin and suede; dual-printed T-shirts; and camp-collar shirts with Hawaiian motifs, pop-cartoon prints, and madras and gingham checks. These can be worn as separates or paired with pleated or flat-front trousers, and a bi-colour mohair wool blazer. Loafers, creeper and cap-toe Derbies, and cap-toe sneakers in nubuck and deer skin complete the ready-to-wear range.
The apparel features one-off Prada bowling logos, to inject a spot of fun into classic menswear. “The retro themes were an
effortless inspiration for the campaign and content, and allowed us to easily meld the worlds of Mr Porter and Prada,” says Toby Bateman, managing director of Mr Porter. The pieces are priced from US$370 to $3,490 (Dh1,360 to Dh12,800), with free shipping to the UAE for orders over $250, once the collection drops on April 25. To celebrate the partnership, Mr Porter and Prada will host a bowling event in New York on April 26.
Adam Welch, daily content editor of Mr Porter’s The Daily style journal, told The National: “The mood for a while has been very nostalgic; it’s all about vintage and retro. Men may be less varied in their tastes when it comes to clothing, but what we see is that if we present men with options, they want to experiment and try different things. The emancipation of menswear is something that has been happening since the mid2000s, and there has been a lot more conversation.”
Online shopping has emerged as a major catalyst in that conversation, with more and more brands going the e-commerce route to draw in male shoppers. The menswear market is expected to touch US$33 billion by 2020. E-tailors are reporting a faster growth than both womenswear and the luxury market, although this could be down to the fact that convenience-seeking men are shopping a lot more now than they used to.
“Prada’s DNA is about creating products that are breakthrough [and] that may at times surprise customers, while bringing ideas and ideals to life. We believe that the Mr Porter partnership is relevant to our digital transformation in today’s changing scenario,” says Stefano Cantino, group strategic marketing director at Prada.
In the past, Mr Porter has carried exclusive collections by the likes of Gucci, Balenciaga and Tom Ford. The team also launched Mr P last year, a label created by its in-house tailors and designers, which will stock in-demand basics such as white shirts, chinos and crewnecks.
As Andrew Barker, editorial director of Mr Porter’s Post magazine, puts it: “I don’t think men don’t enjoy shopping, but that it is inefficient going from shop to shop. What we have done is provide the most efficient way for men to shop.”
The collection features one-off Prada bowling logos on shirts and tees, to inject a spot of fun into classic menswear