Part of a S/S 2023 collection that captured the ephemeral joy of a summer holiday, Prada’s multifunctional bucket hat has room for sunglasses, keys, coins and more

Hat, £640; sunglasses, £350; top, £700, all by Prada. Fashion: Jason Hughes

‘An uncanny summer escape’ was how Prada described its S/S 2022 menswear film, seeing models emerge from a serpentine red-walled tunnel directly onto the idyllic beaches and rocky coves of Capo Carbonara, a peninsula at the south-eastern tip of Sardinia, Italy. The clothing – poplin rompers rolled up to the thighs; jacquard vests, akin to 1920s swimming singlets; micro shorts; cocooning hoodies, the texture and colour of beach towels – captured the ephemeral joy of a summer holiday, cited by co-creative directors Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons as an inspiration for the season. ‘[It’s about] a sense of the utopian, the ideal of hope, positivity. To expose yourself to nature, to go to the beach, it’s freedom,’ said the former. ‘That is really a primary need – an intellectual need, too.’

An array of accessories complemented the collection – striped terry-cloth slides, an octopus earring, colourful triangular shoulder bags – though it was the reimagined bucket hat that drew the eye. Forsaking the necessity for more unwieldy beach bags, its almond shape provides room for the essentials: two slits on each side to hold the arms of your sunglasses and a single triangle-shaped zip pocket on the back with just enough room for keys, coins, or earbuds, keeping your valuables close even as you head down into the water (features which prove equally efficient for a hands-free commute). As such, its form-meets-function design recalls the beginnings of Miuccia Prada’s tenure at the label, and her 1984 ‘Vela’ backpack, the first in lightweight nylon – a distinctly utilitarian approach to luxury; a classic design, reinvented. §

A version of this article appears in the July 2022 issue of Wallpaper*. Subscribe today!

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