Prada, SpA is an
Italian fashion company
(also known as a "label"
or "house") with
retail outlets worldwide.
The company, originally
known in
Italian as
Fratelli
Prada ("Prada Brothers"),
was founded in 1913 by Mario
Prada. In 1978, Mario's
granddaughter
Miuccia Prada inherited
what was still a leather
goods business from her
mother, and led the company's
expansion into haute couture.
Miuccia first gained
her reputation for creative
use of materials and simple,
modern lines with her 1985
line of sleek black handbags
made from parachute
nylon.
These novel, high-priced
bags quickly became widely
sought-after, and spawned
a global industry of
counterfeit Prada goods.
Prada's first
Pret-a-porter, or "ready-to-wear"
collection was designed
by Miuccia Prada in the
autumn/winter season of
1989. The collection's plain,
modern lines were a stark
contrast to other labels'
flamboyant, sexual designs,
and fueled a sharp rise
in Prada's popularity.
In addition to the original
Prada line, the
company introduced the
Miu Miu collection,
a lower-priced line aimed
at a younger audience, in
1992. The Miu Miu line,
which shares Miuccia Prada's
nickname, emphasizes earthy
colors and a less haute
couture look, evoking an
overall more bohemian style.
In its advertising campaigns,
waif-like models in "home
photo" poses further
the look. Miu Miu clothing
is often simple, and evokes
a continual image of high-end
vintage items. It was followed
by the Prada Sport collection.
Prada rose to fashion
primacy in the early 1990s
on a look epitomized by
thick, square glasses and
garish colors known as "Prada
Ugly." Prada takes
a decidedly -- and consciously
-- intellectual approach
to fashion. The look of
the early 2000's has been
described as that of a "chic
neo-fascist army" by
the New York Times. Other
critics have described Prada's
look by comparing it to
Gucci's:
While the Gucci girl is
swigging shots of tequila
in the back of a nightclub
wearing a miniskirt and
halter top, the Prada girl
is reading
Proust in a cafe.
Prada won a
Council of Fashion Designers
of America International
Award for accessories in
1993.
Although Prada remains
the pinnacle of contemporary
fashion following
Tom
Ford's retirement
-- in 2004 Vogue Editor-in-Chief
Anna Wintour is said
to have told Miuccia Prada
that she was "the only
reason anyone comes to Milan"
for runway shows -- it continues
to derive the overwhelming
bulk of its revenues from
its original leather goods
business, the sale of shoes
and handbags.
Following lead in other
companies in a popular trend
of large labels to absorb
as many other fashion houses
as possible, Prada took
on large debts to take on
the financially floundering
Rome-based house of
Fendi
in the early 1990s. Prada
shared shares in Fendi with
the
Louis Vuitton Moet Hennesy
(LVMH) company. Prada was
unable to turn around/support
the money-losing Fendi label,
and sold its Fendi shares
to LVMH. Prada is still
to recover from this debt.
The only brand to avoid
the pitfalls of forming
a large luxury label company
is that of
Giorgio
Armani.
Other labels within the
Prada Group corporate umbrella
include
Helmut
Lang and
Jil
Sander.
References in popular culture
In The Family Guy, Meg felt left out because she had an ugly purse. Her parents wouldn't give her the $1100 needed to buy a Prada, so she got a job to buy one herself. In this episode, the Prada bag is seen as a status symbol.
Lauren Weisberger titled her bestselling 2003
roman
clef purportedly about her onetime boss, Anna Wintour,
The Devil Wears Prada.
Beyond the tailored garment
Prada has commissioned international architects, most notably Rem Koolhaas and Herzog & de Meuron, to design flagship stores in various locations, both as a marketing and branding concept as well as a differentiating feature.
In 2005, near the West Texas towns of Valentine and Marfa, a pair of Scandanavian artists, Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset, unveiled Prada Marfa, a sculpture masquerading as a Prada mini-botique. Located along an isolated stretch of U.S. Highway 90, the 15 by 25-foot adobe and stucco building was partially funded by the Prada Foundation.
Prada Women's Fashion
Fashion Definition
1550-1600 Fashion History
Designer Definition
(from U.S Department of
Labor)
Clothing Definitions
Fashion Accessories
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