MILAN — As the sporting world turns its eyes to Barcelona on Thursday for the Louis Vuitton Cup – the final leg of the pre-regattas leading up to the 37th America’s Cup – Prada is looking to increase the event’s visibility through retail activities.

The Italian luxury brand is not only conquering the waters of Barcelona with the foiling monohull Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli AC75, but is also opening a temporary boutique in the city’s harbor, Marina Port Vell.

The 120-square-meter boutique – decorated on the outside with a pattern that combines Prada’s triangular logo in light green – has large windows overlooking the marina. The decor is modeled on Prada’s stores around the world, with the signature black-and-white checkered marble floor, rosewood furniture and pastel-colored carpets.

The store will offer a selection of ready-to-wear and accessories for men and women, as well as exclusive products. These include cashmere jackets, skirts and overalls, leather skirts, sailor-style coats and jackets, and garments exclusive to this location in georgette and sablé, embellished with floral embroidery and bows. The men’s offer focuses on the use of luxurious fabrics and includes cashmere outerwear and knitwear, as well as suits in technical gabardine.

It will remain open until the end of October, for the entire duration of the America’s Cup.

To further strengthen its connection with the 37th America’s Cup, the brand will also set up a site-specific stand in its flagship store in Barcelona, ​​opposite Paseo de Gracia, to pay tribute to the sailing competition and the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team with the signature America’s Cup sneakers.

The shoe design was introduced in 1997 for the Luna Rossa team, introduced into Prada’s fashion collection in 1999 and is considered one of the pioneering examples of the luxury sneaker trend.

Featuring a leather and mesh upper, a puffy rubber sole with rounded edges and two red lines on the heel and tongue, they are part of Prada Linea Rossa’s technical collection of high-performance clothing and accessories.

In addition to a selection of the sneakers – which were re-presented in a revised design on the Prada runway in fall 2018 and reissued in their original version in 2021 – the Barcelona flagship will carry a special selection of ready-to-wear and accessories from Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, a line named after Prada’s sailboat.

On Thursday, the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team will return to the water for the Round Robin of the Louis Vuitton Cup after a break of several days.

In the final pre-regatta, which ended last Sunday, the Italian team secured second place after four adrenaline-filled days of sailing, but ultimately lost to defending champions Emirates Team New Zealand.

The 37th America’s Cup, which runs until October 27, is Luna Rossa’s seventh challenge but its sixth race. The team withdrew from the competition in 2015 after disagreeing with the repeal of the rules that had been unanimously adopted the previous year by then-Cup holders, Oracle Team of the USA.

The Luna Rossa sailing team was founded in 1997 by Patrizio Bertelli, Chairman of the Prada Group, under the original name “Prada Challenge for the America’s Cup 2000”. The team won the Louis Vuitton Cup in 2000 with a record of 38 wins in 49 races. It also competed in 2003 and 2007, reaching the final of the Louis Vuitton Cup.

In 2021, Luna Rossa won the Challenger Selection Series, the Prada Cup, but lost to challenger Emirates Team New Zealand, who managed to defend the 36th America’s Cup with a 7-3 victory over Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, thus ending their ambitions of taking home the trophy.