Elaine Turner is known for her bags and shoes in great fabrics and bright color. But for fall, she's replaced the sunny Palm Beach pastels for rich shades of champagne, eggplant, black and brown, and the occasional coral pink and sunny yellow for good measure. It's a palette that plays up the famous high-end Elaine Turner textures: quilted patent leather, diamond-graphic haircalf, supple suede, embossed snake leather and more. It's a mod, mod world, heading across the pond for inspiration from David Hicks' iconic interiors from the 1960s and 70s. "Hicks' work is iconic and I wanted to express his unexpected design aesthetics in the collection," says Turner. Geometric prints make a fun appearance, as well as a surprisingly wearable hair-calf cheetah print. Of course, seasons come and go, but certain things at Elaine Turner will never change: the bamboo accents and hot pink pattern lining are here to stay.
From catwalk to moonwalk
Houston company unveils Prada-designed spacesuit for mission to moon
Fashion met the future as Houston-based Axiom Space and luxury fashion designer Prada revealed the design of the spacesuit that NASA astronauts will wear during their upcoming journey to the moon.
Axiom, a space exploration company, and Prada, a global luxury brand, debuted their design of the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) spacesuit at the International Astronautical Congress in Milan, Italy.
Set for 2026, NASA’s Artemis III mission will be the first “staffed” lunar landing since Apollo 17 in 1972. Four astronauts have been selected for the 30-day mission.
Components of the white, gray, and red spacesuit include:
- Lights
- HD camera
- Cellular communications
- “Endurance athlete”-style nutrition
- Backpack with portable life support system
- Custom-made gloves
- Boots designed to withstand lunar temperatures and rough terrain
The spacesuit work is being performed under a nearly $1.3 billion NASA contract.Photo courtesy of Axiom Space
Axiom says the suit, which fits men and women, will enable astronauts to perform a spacewalk for at least eight hours. It’s geared toward lunar missions and low-earth-orbit missions.
“The AxEMU has significant advancements in safety, mobility, sizing, and performance,” the company says.
During development of the suit, Axiom placed a dark cover on the outer layer to conceal the suit’s proprietary technology. However, the suits worn on the lunar surface will be made from a white material that reflects heat, and protects astronauts from extreme high temperatures and lunar dust.
The spacesuit work is being performed under a nearly $1.3 billion NASA contract.
“Going beyond our limits is one of the company’s values that perfectly reflects the spirit of the Prada brand and my parents’ vision. I’m very proud of the result we’re showing today, which is just the first step in a long-term collaboration with Axiom Space,” Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada’s chief marketing officer and head of corporate social responsibility, says in a news release.
Axiom says the suit is near the final stage of development. Already, it has gone through testing by astronauts and engineers at Axiom, NASA, and SpaceX facilities.
Among the tests were reduced-gravity simulations at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and underwater simulations at NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, also in Houston.
The suit will undergo an in-depth design review in 2025.
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This story first appeared on our sister site InnovationMap.