The End of the Beginning
The prodigious owner of the fashion empire Prada, Miuccia Prada, was born on May 10, 1949, in Milan, Italy to the granddaughter-in-law of Mario Prada, Luisa Prada. The founder of the brand- Mario Prada established Prada along with his brother Fratelli Prada and ran Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan as a leather goods shop for more than 30 years on his retirement in the year 1958, Luisa Prada took over the company as his sons had no interest in leading the company. For about 20 years Luisa Prada headed the company until 1977 when her daughter Miuccia Prada elevated the company to regenerate into the world of fashion which was contrasting to the generalised fashion standards at that time. Prada graduated with a degree in Political Science and later she joined as a member of the Communist Party. She had a keen interest in theatre and cinema hence she also studied acting at Piccolo Teatro in Milan along with Political Science.
The vision of becoming
Miucci, legally named Maria Bianchi was officially adopted by her mother’s unmarried sister to acquire their pride, surname – Prada. The astonishing part of Miuccia’s life is that she never studied fashion as a subject or pursued a degree in it; she is a self-taught fashion designer. Empress of Prada had a vision to accomplish, a legacy to be maintained and continued, she became the owner after working under her mother’s guidance. During her apprenticeship, she met her future husband and co-owner of Prada, Patrizio Bertelli through a trade fair. Prada married her partner in 1978 and collaborated with him to revitalise Prada’s legacy. In the early 1980s, she commenced a new chain of bags made from non-contemporary material, Pocono Nylon which gained popularity in later stages. She was one of the first designers who used a contrasting material and nylon was a material aloof from the fashion industry, it was prominently used in military tents deciphering the interest of Miuccia in military uniforms and equipment. Her promising nature is what defines Prada’s emblem as she continues to use nylon’s sustainable and regenerative form called Econyl. It is also evident that Miu is not a restricted and conservative fashion designer, her evolution in the aspects of sustainable and contemporary style in Fashion is glorious.
With her husband’s alliance, Miuccia opened multiple stores in the initial stages of 1983 though Prada outlets always had a meaning from the early phases as they were handled and designed by proficient architects respecting Miuccia’s idea. With that said, the introduction of Prada’s “Green Store” in Via Della Spiga, a top-selling and luxurious shopping street in Milan made a surprising entry to the market by becoming the first monochrome outlet. “Green Store” attained quite an impression on the fashion strata and hence they opened more outlets in Tokyo, Madrid, London, and Paris. This helped them establish a stature for originality and became the brand’s signature colour. The exhilarating fact about the brand is the opening of its cafeteria in London named “Prada Caffe” with the same signature colour.
Prada’s Mushrooming
The iconic logo of Prada has remained constant the past 100 years, the tranquillity of the logo is the contrasting evolution of it but adheres to the triangle shape outlining the brand’s name.
Prada’s expansion to a more diverse field enhanced the exclusive collaboration of Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli. The rise of Prada ignited in the early ‘90s with the introduction of its first perfume which had no name but a fragrance that resonated along its logo, various garment lines, and the first menswear collection released in the year 1993. The first menswear collection announced under the brand’s new line, Miu Miu originating from the owner’s name Miuccia Prada. The timeline continues with an introduction to another fragrance i.e., Prada Luna Rossa and Miuccia brought a contemporary concept different from the conventional ideology of the world of fashion, Ugly Chic. Discarding all the customary ideologies of fashion and encouraging the joy of imperfections, delving into the acceptance of perfection in imperfections. As Miuccia says the motive behind the concept of “Ugly Chic” was to embrace the “trashy domestic textiles from the ‘50s” which included garments with prints having that of tablecloth and curtains to revive the fake – cheap garments by reshaping them into high fashion. Prada did not introduce this concept to glorify the ugly and obscure beauty but to redefine the path of beauty and its standards.
In 1997 Miuccia once again transcended the line between fashion and architecture by hosting her exhibition with silhouettes of women wearing different types of skirts along their movement that helped in portraying the comfort and behaviour of those skirts organically. Miuccia Prada also released the movie Past Forward in collaboration with David O. Russell, through its elemental theatrical construction and depiction of fashion by the absence of sound and captivating attention by black and white videography blurs the difference between fashion and cinema.
According to Forbes records, Miuccia Prada has a Net Worth of $ 5.4 billion and still stands as one of the most powerful fashion designers in the world.
