I’ve wanted a Prada Nylon backpack ever since watching the film 10 Things I Hate About You back in 1999. Fellow fans of the rom-com will no doubt remember the famous line, “I like my Skechers, but I love my Prada backpack,” just as well as I do. But teen romance aside, this quip has come to represent in my mind just how iconic Prada’s Nylon rucksack was, and still is, in the lexicon of modern fashion.
In fact, the practical, utilitarian fabric has gone on to become one of the luxury label’s most recognisable codes across more than just handbags—despite it being the opposite of everything you might expect from a glamorous Italian design house. Miuccia Prada herself introduced it in 1979 in a bid to change the trajectory of the label and inject some modernity when she took over the helm of the brand. Clearly, the woman has good instincts because not only did Prada’s Nylon pieces go stratospheric in the ’90s and early noughties (those shoulder bags in particular), but fashion fans, insiders and the best dressed celebrities are still obsessed with the pieces now, 43 years later.
Tagged: luxury