Prada 3

THE BOOK OF

THE BOOK OF

Contents 1

An Introduction to Prada

3

Get to know Miuccia Prada

7

The Iconic Campaigns

9

Pradasphere

11

Prada Marfa

Muicca Prada FOR

Prada was founded in Milan in 1913 by Mario Prada, Miuccia Prada’s grandfather.

Located inside one of Milan’s most celebrated icons, the prestigious glasscovered Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II arcade, Prada was an exclusive shop selling luxury travel articles and accessories made with sophisticated techniques and the finest materials.

It wasn’t long before the shop in Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II became a favourite port of call for the aristocracy and the more refined and elegant members of Europe’s upper classes. In 1919 Prada was appointed Official Supplier to the Italian Royal Household; as such, it incorporated the House of Savoy’s coat of arms and knotted rope design into its logo.

1913 Alongside these, a selection of historic Prada products confirm a level of quality as outstanding today as it was a century ago.

The original Prada shop in Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II has kept its ancient flavour. Displayed on the mahogany shelving units – the very ones that Mario Prada specially commissioned a British architect to design and produce – are exquisitely hand-made bags, trunks, leather accessories and beauty cases of the finest quality as well as all the other leather goods, footwear and clothes from the latest collections.

Miuccia Prada is a fashion designer by profession, but she’s also an art curator, film producer, fledgling architect, conflicted feminist, avid consumer and unreconstructed socialist. Meet the modern woman.

“forI myhadjob,neveranddiscovered the real reason probably what you are saying is very true,” she said, “that you can choose your life.You can change your mind and change your clothes. We have to talk more because maybe now I know one of the reasons why I do my job.

”

- Miuccia Prada

For

30 years, Miuccia Prada has been exalting women with collections that mix ephemeral tastes with the iconic silhouettes of the Italian 60s. The campaigns of the Italian house, which began in black and white, then high-contrast color in the 2000s, have always featured the biggest models of the moment, from Carla Bruni to Naomi Campbell and Linda Evangelista, photographed by the best photographers like Steven Meisel and Peter Lindbergh.

P

rada has received numerous accolades for her work, including the CFDA International Designer Award in 2004, and the first International Designer of the Year at the 2013 British Fashion Awards. As of 2017, she is listed as the 79th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes.

Miuccia Prada has helped develop Prada to become one of the world most influential and significant fashion houses. Creating a recognisable and sophisticated aesthetic, Miuccia Prada takes a narrative approach to designing blending her work with ideas taken from her everyday experiences. Miuccia Prada understands the value of quality and lays great importance on the historic artisan mastery which is integral with the company. Together Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli have created a brand that, not only anticipates, but drives fashion.

Much of what set Prada apart from the rest of the fashion world is her seeming disregard for the fashion industry. Prada has always blazed her own trail and demonstrated a fearlessness in trying new styles.

Prada’s success relies heavily on innovation. No sector of the Prada Group can escape its progressive approach, not even distribution. For example, Prada was the first to launch a new kind of store – the “Prada Epicentres,” which were designed by Nobel-winning architects. Prada focuses its creative eye on more than just fashion. Its corporate embrace includes architecture, cinema, the fine arts, and culture, mirroring them in the brand’s foundation values.

"What you wear is how you present yourself to the world especially today, when human contacts are so quick. Fashion is instant language."

- Miucca Prada

1987-2017 Cordula Reyer for the Prada Fall/Winter 1989 campaign by Albert Watson

Amira Casar for the Prada Spring/Summer 1987 campaign by Albert Watson

Meghan Douglas and Shana Zadrick for the Prada Spring/Summer 1992

Meghan Douglas for the Prada Fall/Winter 1992 campaign by Steven Meisel

Carla Bruni for the Prada Spring/Summer 1993 campaign by Steven Meisel

Amber Valletta for the Prada Fall/Winter 1997 campaign by Glen Luchford

The Iconic Campaigns Angela Lindvall for the Prada Spring/Summer 1999

Prada Spring/Summer 2004 campaign by Steven Meisel

Prada Fall/Winter 2007 campaign by Steven Meisel

Sasha Pivovarova for the Prada Spring/Summer 2007 campaign by Steven Meisel

Thormann, Viktoriya Sasonkina, Toni Garrn for the Prada Spring/Summer 2009

Prada Spring/Summer 2011 campaign by Steven Meisel

A cosmos of its own composed of heavenly bodies set in a complex orbit.

A universe of contradictions and endless elaborations, noble causes and base temptations where idealism meets vanity, intelligence meets passion, fashion meets fiction.

Welcome to Pradasphere

The Evolution of...

Prada

Sculpture, to

Marfa,

Pop Culture Landmark

Prada Marfa, for the uninitiated, is a one-room white-stucco-wall replica of

the kind of real Prada stores one can find in select and, well, more populated parts of the world—everywhere from Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue to Tokyo’s Shinjuku. Except this one is outside the town of Valentine, which has a reported population of 132, and a median household income of $45,670 (that’s approximately seventeen Prada bags). And this Prada features a handful of lifeless handbags, covered in a light film of desert dust, along with three spartan rows of only right-footed size-37 Prada shoes. It isn’t open for business. And it never will be. Originally it was meant to simply be.

Prada-the word conjures a whole way of life, stylish and sophisticated. This musthave book showcases the label’s emphasis on understated elegance and luxury, technologically advanced fabrics, and originality of design.

‘The Book of Prada’ celebrates the family brand, representing a summary of Miuccia Prada's key collections and pieces. It is the first book that documents three decades of ground-breaking fashion, Among

architecture, the

many

film features

and of

art this

by rich

innovative book with its thousands of images, is the ultimate overview of all Miuccia Prada's collections.