CHALLENGERS: PRADA GROUP’S SEA BEYOND

A new edition of Prada GROUP and UNESCO’s traveling ocean conservation exhibition arrives at the Luna Rossa HQ in Cagliari.

By Ryan White

Almost 30 years ago, Prada embarked on one of its most ambitious projects yet: the Luna Rossa sailing team. The brainchild of entrepreneur and then-CEO Patrizio Bertelli and Argentine yacht designer Germán Frers, the goal was to compete in the 2000 edition of the America’s Cup, sailing’s most prestigious competition. The plan worked: Luna Rossa won the Challenger Selection Series in its debut year, and 2027 will mark its seventh America’s Cup campaign, making the team the longest-standing in the competition’s history. The project also established an enduring relationship between Prada and the sea, one that has since expanded to encompass ocean education, scientific research, community engagement and policy advocacy dedicated to the ocean.

At Luna Rossa's HQ in Cagliari, Sardinia, a cavernous, airport-like space that’s home to the team’s sailing boat (the AC75 Luna Rossa, a statuesque, 21-meter-long ‘monohull’), preparations are underway for the competition in Naples next year. It’s an exciting juncture. The boat will be crewed by five sailors, including, for the first time, at least one woman. Max Sirena, Luna Rossa’s CEO, talks enthusiastically about the process and its challenges—including training sailors to hold their breath underwater in case the boat capsizes—as he shows us around the building’s gym and simulation area. Then, we take a look at the Ocean&Climate Village: the reason why we’re all here.

The exhibition is the latest product of SEA BEYOND, a collaboration between Prada Group and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO to raise awareness of sustainability and ocean preservation. As we wander around, schoolchildren are getting a first look at a show designed to bridge the gap between the immense, overwhelming scale of the ocean, and how important it is that we connect with it from a young age. “As we like to say here,” says Francesca Santoro from IOC, “covering 70 percent of the Earth’s surface, we should really call it Planet Ocean.” Magdalena Landry, Director of the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe, goes on: “It is particularly significant that the Luna Rossa base is hosting the exhibition, since sport has the power to inspire well beyond competition.”

A multimedia mix of futuristic and traditional storytelling, the show distills information for a diverse audience. It was designed by regular Prada collaborator, the Milan/Rotterdam design and research studio FormaFantasma. Divided into four distinct sections—One Ocean, The Climate Engine, Biodiversity, and Ocean Anomalies— the Ocean&Climate Village allows visitors to explore the various systems that regulate marine ecosystems, and how they affect one another. Outside, running along the edge of the exhibition space, is a selection of dramatic photographs of the ecosystems of the Galápagos and Hawaii by Enzo Barracco, environmental photographer, climate artist, and Goodwill Ambassador of the project.

Since 2019, the SEA BEYOND initiative has sought to highlight conversations around sustainability and ocean preservation, particularly targeting young people. As Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada Group’s Head of Sustainability, puts it: “We have the opportunity to inspire younger generations to connect with ocean issues, guided by the belief that knowledge is the first step towards fostering greater awareness and a stronger sense of responsibility.”

Elisabetta Zavoli, photojournalist and National Geographic Explorer, also joined the show’s opening, speaking about the importance of urging conservation through an artist’s lens: “I think that art and nature have a really deep and direct connection; nature is maybe the first and the most important source of inspiration for art,” she says. “Art can communicate scientific issues and natural situations to humans in a direct way. It is a great ally to environmental dissemination and communication.”

The Ocean&Climate Village is open to the public through October 15, 2026.