This happens a lot in Nast’s world: all the world’s a store, and all the men and women merely mannequins. And he remembers one occasion in particular inside the Stone Island store in London, where one young guy appeared with a Prada chest bag he’d long coveted. As he’ll explain, he left with the bag. “It's insane, it's one of my favorite Prada pieces,” he says.

And it’s one of many. For the last couple of years, Nast says he’s bought nearly all of “the classic, essential stuff” Prada’s released, which is likely impossible, but maybe not for someone this devout. He even re-ups on the long-lasting trousers and knits every season just because. It’s Prada! He's been wearing the brand ever since his mom bought him a pair of its shoes in elementary school. To this day it’s left an impression. “I rely on Prada for so many of the essentials that I have,” he says. He scours eBay for old versions of the brand’s sneakers and says that it’s not restaurants or movie theaters he’s missed most during the pandemic, but Prada stores. He’s a self-described “fiend” for the brand. Consider his loyalty earned: Nast wouldn’t be such a fan if the clothes weren’t comfortable and hard-wearing—he claims to still carry bags from Prada that are over two decades old. We chatted with Nast about the quality of Prada, his favorite pieces, and going to the store no matter what.

You've saidthat if you could only wear two brands for the rest of your life, they would be Comme Des Garçons and Prada. What makes Prada worthy of that spot for you?

Because to me, Prada makes the best essential everyday wear. There's nothing like that. When I shop at Prada I buy what's classic. Lately they've given into more graphic-style clothing, but before they didn't really have too much graphic print and just made really, really, really good fabrics, and there's nothing like that. Every day I get dressed, I want to look nice, I want to feel nice, but I also want to wear comfortable stuff. Prada has embodied that forever.

I always appreciated that because like I'm sort of a normcore kind of guy; I come outside pretty normal. I have days when I want to do outfits and get crazy but for the most part, I come out and I'm wearing pretty basic clothing. But there's nothing basic about Prada—let me just add that in, just so there are no misunderstandings.