Prada Group Wants You to Think About the Ocean

“Enhancing marine education is integral to the health of our global ocean.”

Prada Group’s admiration and respect for the environment have long been apparent. In 2019, Prada Re-Nylon, comprising reworked accessories and ready-to-wear for men and women, launched a fundamental sector of Prada’s sustainable identity. But the brand’s efforts didn’t end there. The ocean is important. It’s more than important. And according to Prada Group, it’s about time we started acting like it.

Prada Group celebrated the International Day for Biological Diversity on Wednesday at its Broadway store with a special chat dedicated to SEA BEYOND, an educational program established by the brand in 2019. The discussion was held by Emmy-nominated photographer and climate artist Enzo Barracco, UNESCO-IOC senior program officer Francesca Santoro, and Meghan Marrero of the National Marine Educators Association, who is also a Blue Schools committee chair.

Fashion and conservation can indeed unite. Barracco knows this. Early yesterday, I spoke with him alongside his photographs, which depict the strength and fragility of the ocean. “Photography is a great tool to tell what’s happening in nature,” he said. “If you see, you care. If you see, you connect.”

Marrero agrees with the notion that seeing is believing. With the funds Prada Group donates to NMEA, an organization whose goal is to advance the understanding and protection of marine ecosystems, 16 schools in the tristate area will be transformed into “Blue Schools.” These Blue Schools add ocean learning and action projects (like biome art and field trips) into day-to-day education. “Enhancing marine education is integral to the health of our global ocean. Today’s students are tomorrow’s decision-makers,” Marrero said. “We must help these learners build their connection to the ocean and become water stewards to ensure a sustainable ocean future.”

Besides continuing to expand beyond the United States and develop more tools, the next step for Barracco and SEA BEYOND will be a second photographic exhibition, scheduled for early December 2024 at the Prada Aoyama epicenter in Tokyo.