Prada Unveils Astronaut Cooling Garment for Upcoming NASA Missions
Prada has introduced a specialized inner-layer garment designed for NASA astronauts, marking a significant step in the Italian luxury house’s expansion into the space industry. Developed in collaboration with Houston-based Axiom Space, the Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment features integrated ventilation tubes and is intended for use during upcoming lunar exploration missions.
The Technology Behind the Suit
The garment is designed to provide thermal regulation for astronauts operating in extreme space environments. According to Prada, the body-hugging suit incorporates ventilation tubes knitted directly into the fabric to manage heat.
Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada’s chief marketing officer, showcased the garment at a Manhattan store event on June 7, 2026. He emphasized that the project reflects the brand’s broad spectrum of technical capabilities. Jonathan Cirtain, CEO of Axiom Space, noted that expertise for space exploration products often emerges from industries that may seem unrelated to aerospace.
Prada’s Strategic Shift Toward Space
This latest development builds on a partnership between Prada and Axiom Space that began in 2024. The collaboration focuses on creating specialized apparel for NASA’s Artemis program. The suits are expected to be utilized during the Artemis 3 mission, currently scheduled for 2027, and the Artemis 4 lunar landing, slated for 2028.
For Prada, the foray into space serves as a move to align the brand with avant-garde innovation. Thomai Serdari, a luxury brand strategist and marketing professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business, suggests that the partnership allows the company to reach affluent consumers interested in space travel while positioning itself at the forefront of a new industrial frontier.
How Luxury Brands View Space Exploration
Prada’s entry into the space sector arrives as the broader luxury market navigates a period of economic instability. Following two years of contraction, the industry saw signs of stabilization before geopolitical conflicts, such as the war in Iran that began in late February 2026, disrupted global travel and spending.
Luca Solca, global head of luxury goods at Bernstein, notes that the resumption of lunar travel is expected to attract significant public interest. Consequently, luxury brands are seeking new ways to remain visible and relevant.
While Prada is the first major luxury house to secure such a partnership, other apparel companies have previously entered the space market. These include:
* Under Armour: Collaborated with Virgin Galactic to develop space flight apparel.
* Columbia Sportswear: Partnered with Intuitive Machines to test space fabric technology.
Despite these precedents, industry analysts suggest that the “upper crust” of the luxury sector is unlikely to replicate Prada’s specific strategy. According to Serdari, while brands like Louis Vuitton, Hermès, and Chanel maintain an interest in the space sector, they are expected to pursue distinct, non-replicative paths to maintain their individual market positioning as trend-setters.