MR PORTER TEAMS UP WITH PRADA ON BOWLING-INSPIRED COLLECTION

Online menswear retailer Mr Porter has teamed up with Italian luxury fashion house Prada to launch an exclusive capsule collection rooted in bowling nostalgia. This is Prada’s first menswear exclusive with an online retail partner.

Debuting on Mr Porter on Wednesday, April 25, the 32-piece capsule collection is anchored in ready-to-wear and shoes. It draws from eras of bowling popularity – the 1950s and 1980s – and features camp-collar shirts in Hawaiian and pop-cartoon prints and madras and gingham checks, mid-century-style block paneled stripe cardigans and stripe knit T-shirts, blouson jackets in satin and suede and two printed t-shirts with exclusive Prada bowling logos, both referencing the eras of inspiration. Pleated and flat-front trousers, polo shirts and a mohair bi-color wool blazer complete the ready-to-wear offering. Loafers, creeper and cap-toe Derbies and cap-toe sneakers in nubuck and deer skin make up the exclusive offering of shoes. The collection will retail between $370 to $3,490.

To celebrate the partnership, Mr Porter will launch an integrated global marketing and content campaign, across its social media, email, website and app platforms, culminating in a Mr Porter x Prada hero story with video in the retailer’s publication, The Journal, and a Mr Porter x Prada bowling event in New York City, both on April 26.

“We are incredibly proud to be working with Prada on this special project and to be the first men’s online retailer to partner on an exclusive collection,” said Toby Bateman, managing director at Mr Porter. “The retro themes of 1950s and 1980s menswear were an effortless inspiration for the campaign and content and allowed us to easily meld the worlds of Mr Porter and Prada.”

“We are extremely pleased to be part of this exclusive project in collaboration with Mr Porter that we consider being the perfect partner to communicate the values of the brand,” added Stefano Cantino, strategic marketing director at Prada Group. “Prada’s DNA is in fact about creating products which are really breakthrough that may at times surprise customers, while bringing ideas and ideals to life. We strongly believe that this partnership with one of the major menswear luxury e-tailers is strategically relevant to our digital transformation in today’s changing scenario where we are making significant steps forward.”