The type of materials that are used to make high-end luxury products are a great way to tell if something is high-quality or not. After all, paying premium prices for fashion does not always mean getting something authentic or even made with good quality.
While it isn’t for everyone, most fashion enthusiasts like products made with only real materials, whether leather or fur, nothing is comparable to them to the real thing.
Here’s a List of Leather and Materials Prada Uses:
Prada is most well known for their very specific type of leather, Saffiano Leather. Along with their signature leather, Prada loves using non-luxurious materials like Nylon. Prada also uses Nappa leather, wood, and animal skin, such as reptile skin, in their products.
What Kind of Leather Does Prada Use?
While Prada has plenty of iconic pieces of fashion, they are most well known for their genius use of leather.
Prada uses leather to stay true to its aesthetic, perfectly mixing polished looks with a little edge. What is the leather they use, and why is it so special?
Prada primarily uses Saffiano leather in their fashion pieces. Saffiano leather is special because it is sourced, comes from Italy, and is specially treated and tanned at what is considered the best leather-work studio in the world.
This is one of the reasons why Prada’s leather products come at such a high price tag.
Because of how the leather is treated, Saffiano leather is one of the world’s softest and most delicate. It is considered in the top 3 of the best and most luxurious leathers available.
However, it is much more than the processing and the tanning of this leather that helps to make it special. Along with the tanning of the leather, Saffiano leather is crosshatched. This is done by making minuscule slices into the top of the leather, which allows it to soften.
After the leather has been tanned and crosshatched, the final treatment step is to emboss it, leaving you with a wax-like texture on the top. This not only makes the leather ultra soft but helps to makes it durable. While leather is strong and can hold up over time, you want to ensure your Prada high-end leather bag is protected from the elements.
From their famous handbags to rockstar combat boots, you can find Saffiano leather throughout Prada’s collection.
Does Prada Use Real Animal Skin?
The difference between animal skin and leather is found in how both have been treated and processed. When talking about animal skin, we are talking about a material that has not been bleached or tanned the same way leather would.
So, does Prada use real animal skin in their products?
Yes, Prada does still use some animal skin in their outgrowths. Most notably, they use reptilian skin like snakes.
Snakeskin is the most popular animal skin that is used in fashion. This is because it gives a scale effect that fits right into the Prada classy-punk brand. Along with snakeskin, Prada uses crocodile skin to get that scale look in some of their collections.
Along with reptilian skin, Prada occasionally uses ostrich skin in some fashions. Prada even has a whole collection based around the use of ostrich skin.
This collection mainly features handbags and small accessories like belts and sunglasses. In comparison, Prada is most well known for their pricey leather items, Prada handbags made from ostrich skin run at a much higher price point. This is because it is harder to ethically source ostrich skin, making it more exclusive.
Does Prada Use Real Leather?
Prada exclusively uses top-tier Saffiano leather for most of its leather-based products. However, in recent years, Prada has come under fire for other types of leather they use.
Most notably, Prada used kangaroo leather in some of their collections back in 2019. This caused a big stir in the animal rights community and caused Prada to rethink their materials. In 2020 Prada promised to stop producing kangaroo leather products, which helped to heal their image with the animal rights community.
While Saffiano leather is still the number one leather that Prada uses in its products, that isn’t the only ultra-soft leather you can find.
The second most popular leather that Prada uses is Nappa leather. Nappa is full-grain leather that is often considered far softer than Saffiano.
So, why doesn’t Prada primarily use this ultra-soft leather in their products?
Since Nappa leather is softer, it is much less sturdy than Saffiano leather. This means the product will be less durable and will not hold up for long, which is why people prefer to buy Saffiano leather because, at those high prices, you want a product that will hold up.
While Prada has several other types of leather that they use, the last one worth mentioning is the Vernice leather. This is the leather that Prada primarily uses for their high heels and glossy finished shoes.
This is because Vernice leather has an ultra-glossy shine finish, making it perfect for a glossy platform pump shoe. However, some people are surprised to learn that it isn’t the real leather Prada uses but the varnish that the leather is treated with.
On top of the soft leather, Vernice is covered in a plastic coating that gives the shoe a perfect shine and protects the leather from the elements.
Does Prada Use Real Fur?
Since Prada came under fire in 2019 for their use of unethically treated animal skin, Prada has vowed to make impactful changes to its collections to better the world.
In 2019, Prada announced that it would no longer use real animal fur to make any of its products. The spring 2019 collection was Prada’s last collection that featured any real fur. So no, Prada does not currently use real animal fur in its products.
In a way, Prada set a precedent for high-end luxury brands when it comes to leaving a carbon footprint and further harming the environment.
This is because Prada was one of the first luxury brands to become a member of “Fur-Free,” which is a collective of brands that vow to no longer use fur.
While this makes a huge difference to the animal rights community, some still don’t think Prada is going far enough. This is because while they’ve stopped using real fur, they still feature leather and animal skin. But, any step in the right direction should be considered a good thing.
Does Prada Use Real Wood?
While Prada doesn’t make full materials out of wood, there are plenty of little wooden details that you can find throughout its collections. You can see these amazing wood details, specifically in Prada’s handbags and some of its shoe designs.
I love the way that Prada uses wood handles. It leans into the Prada style of mixing elegance with something unexpected.
Prada uses real wood to make those details in some of its products. This is one of the best ways for you to spot a fake Prada from a real Prada.
Most of the time, Prada knockoffs will use plastic that is treated to look like wood to keep production costs down. So, if you spot a Prada bag with a painted plastic handle, you may have a fake bag on your hands.
Wrapping It Up!
One of the biggest differences between a luxury brand and a mass-produced clothing line – besides the price – is their materials. Most luxury brands pride themselves on only using natural materials. After all, they charge thousands of dollars for one piece, so it better be real.
Using natural and high-end materials has always been a very important part of the Prada brand. This is because when Prada was first formed, they were heavily inspired by Saffiano leather, and that passion for quality is still evident today.