This is hard for me to say, as a devout Prada fan and devotee of wearing shoes that used to belong to other people, but…
Don’t waste emotional energy getting excited about rubber soled Linea Rossa (Prada Sport) gems on TRR… they will only break your heart.
I’m sure that the rubber that Prada used is top notch, and probably more natural than most sneakers of today (the soles are heavy, which natural rubber tends to be*), but the sandals in my video above, and the absolute bangers below that Erin featured and I immediately ordered have such brittle and finicky soles, I won’t be fooled again. The red beauties below only made it out into the world once before they cracked and literally fell apart, mid stride.
The blue metallic sandals above are comfy AF, but the rubber has gotten so hard & tough that the soles are actually slippery. (A not so “sport” quality.) I think they may last through July, but I wouldn’t put my money on September.
After years of designing and fitting and wearing and sadly needing to actually throw out shoes made of other materials, I remain convinced that leather really is the best material for all part of a shoe**. I really really wish Prada would provide resoling services for the old Linea Rossa styles…. The rest of the shoes have so much more life to live.
If anyone out there has access to the outsole mold archive…. please convince your overloads to release new soles into the world, so these gems don’t go to waste!
* Chat GPT citation - “Natural rubber can be affected by ozone in the air, which can cause it to become brittle over time. However, this can be mitigated by adding anti-ozonants to the rubber recipe.”
Anti-ozoants may not be chic, but they’re useful.
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