Prada
Prada S.p.A. (/ˈprɑːdə/ ⓘ, PRAH-də; Italian: [ˈpraːda]) is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1913 in Milan by Mario Prada. It specializes in leather handbags, travel accessories, shoes, ready-to-wear, and other fashion accessories. Prada licenses its name and branding to Luxottica for eyewear[3] and L’Oréal for fragrances and cosmetics.[4] The company takes advantage of forced labour in China.[5]
For other uses, see Prada (disambiguation).Company type
1913
(as Fratelli Prada)
- Via Antonio Fogazzaro, 28
- 20135 Milan
- Italy
- 45°27′25″N 09°12′38″E / 45.45694°N 9.21056°E
606 boutiques[1]
Worldwide
€1.06 billion (2023)[1]
€671.0 million (2023)[1]
€7.61 billion (2023)[1]
€3.85 billion (2023)[1]
14,876 (2023)[1]
- Miu Miu
- Church's
- Car Shoe
- Pasticceria Marchesi
- Luna Rossa
- Fondazione Prada
Founded in 1913 and named for the family of founder Mario Prada, the company originally sold imported English animal goods before transitioning to waterproof nylon fabrics in the 1970s under the leadership of Mario's granddaughter, Miuccia Prada and her husband Patrizio Bertelli. By the 1990s, Prada was perceived as a luxury brand, a designation credited to originality in its designs. To further the business, Miuccia Prada founded Miu Miu as a subsidiary of Prada around this time period; the company additionally partnered with LVMH to acquire a joint stake in Fendi; Prada further assisted LVMH in its failed takeover of Gucci.
The brand struggled through the late 2000s and early to mid 2010s, which included a failed initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, though began a resurgence in popularity entering into the 2020s. Miuccia Prada and Bertelli, both entering old age, began a transition in leadership to their children in the 2020s, bringing in former Luxottica CEO Andrea Guerra to lead the company for the years during the transition. The house presently sees annual revenue in the billions of Euros, making €4.2 billion in 2022 with profit that same year totaling to €776 million; furthermore, Prada and less so Miu Miu are seen as having very high desirability among consumers across various reports.[6][7][8]
Businesses today[edit]
Runway shows[edit]
Prada hosts seasonal runway shows on the international fashion calendar, taking place in Milan often at one of the brand's spaces.
1988 – first womenswear show in Milan
1998 – first menswear show in Milan[11]
Resort 2019 was shown in New York City at Prada's New York headquarters.[45] The show was broadcast over screens in Times Square.[46]
Previous Prada models include Daria Werbowy, Gemma Ward, Vanessa Axente, Suvi Koponen, Ali Stephens, Vlada Roslyakova and Sasha Pivovarova, who went on to appear in Prada's ad campaigns for six consecutive seasons after opening the Prada fall 2005 runway show. Prada has also featured many actors as models in their menswear shows and campaigns, including Gary Oldman, Adrien Brody, Emile Hirsch[47] and Norman Reedus.[48]
Prada's runway music is designed by Frédéric Sanchez.[49]
Other activities[edit]
Costume design[edit]
In 2007, Miuccia Prada contributed costume designs for two digital characters in the CGI film Appleseed Ex Machina.[58]
In 2010, Giuseppe Verdi’s Attila premiered at New York’s Metropolitan Opera with costumes by Miuccia Prada.[59]
In 2013, Miuccia Prada designed costumes for Baz Luhrmann's film The Great Gatsby in collaboration with costume designer Catherine Martin.[60]
Perfumes[edit]
2004 – Fragrance launched with the Puig company.[61] Women's fragrances were followed by men's fragrances in 2006. L'Oreal Group acquired the beauty license from Puig in 2021.[62]
Prada in popular culture[edit]
Films[edit]
The 1999 feature film 10 Things I Hate About You features the following exchange extolling the virtues of Prada ownership:[72]
Philanthropy and sponsoring[edit]
Arts and architecture[edit]
Inaugurated in 2000, Prada's Milan Headquarters are located in a former industrial space between via Bergamo and Via Fogazzaro.[77] An art installation by Carsten Höller that takes the form of a three-story metal slide leads from Miuccia Prada's office to the interior courtyard.[78]
Completed in 2002, Prada's New York City Headquarters open, located in a former Times Square piano factory renovated by the Herzog & de Meuron architecture firm.[79]
2003 – "Garden-Factories" Project – Prada collaborates with architect Guido Canali to rejuvenate the landscape surrounding their manufacturers.[51]
In 2004, "Waist Down – Skirts by Miuccia Prada" bowed at the Tokyo Epicenter. A traveling exhibition featuring 100 skirts designed by Miuccia Prada and conceived by curator Kayoko Ota of AMO in collaboration with Mrs. Prada, the exhibition went on to Shanghai, New York, Los Angeles and Seoul.[80]
Completed in 2009, Prada commissioned an unusual multi-purpose building from Rem Koolhaas's OMA group called the Prada Transformer in Seoul.[81] The building was first used to display the "Waist Down – Skirts by Miuccia Prada" exhibition, and later changed into a movie theater.
In 2012, Mrs. Prada, along with designer Elsa Schiaparelli, was the subject of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's exhibition, "Impossible Conversations".[82] The Los Angeles Epicenter was also restored in 2012.[83]
In 2014, an exhibition called "Pradasphere" bowed in London's Harrods and Hong Kong's Central Ferry Pier 4, highlighting the Prada universe.[84]
In 2015, Prada opened a permanent home for Fondazione Prada in Milan. Located in a former distillery redesigned by Rem Koolhaas's OMA group, it hosts a permanent collection of site-specific art as well as galleries of rotating exhibits. Intended to act as a gathering space for the local community,[85] it also features a performance space, movie theater, bookstore, and a cafe – Bar Luce,[86] with an interior designed by director Wes Anderson.[87]
In 2016, after 6 years of restoration Prada opened an events space in a historic residence in the Rong Zhai district of Shanghai, China.[88]
Sports sponsoring[edit]
Patrizio Bertelli's passion for sailing led Prada to form Team Luna Rossa in 1997 in order to participate in the America's Cup.[51] On 28 September 2017 it was announced by the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron[89] that Prada will be the hosting sponsor of Challenger Selection Series at the 2021 America's Cup, superseding the role of Louis Vuitton started in 1983.
The Challenger Selection Series that was the Louis Vuitton Cup, will now be known as the Prada Cup, and the America's Cup Match will be presented by Prada. It will be held in Auckland, New Zealand, January 2021.
Environmental sustainability[edit]
The luxury Group, Prada, allied with UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission in 2019 to introduce an 'educational program', SEA BEYOND, about sea-peservation.[90] The rationale behind such an educational project is to sensibilize the youth and make them aware of 'ocean pollution' and the importance of preserving the sea.[91] At the Sustainable Fashion Awards 2022, the project SEA BEYOND, which simultaneously included 'ocean-literacy' and 'sustainable fashion', received an award.[91] In June 2023, Prada announced its plan to increase its financial support for the Sea Beyond project.[92] Accordingly, for the next two years, the Italian luxury brand will donate 1% of sales revenues from its Re-Nylon collections.[93][94] This will allow the project to broaden its scope beyond ocean education with two ocean-related fields of action; support for scientific research and community projects.[95] Also in December 2023, Prada unveiled its engagement to the UN’s Global Compact (UNGC) initiative which reflected its commitment to work according guiding principles relating to human rights, the environment, labour and anti-corruption.[96]
In January 2024, Prada announced its new partnership with the international non-profit organization Bibliothèques Sans Frontières involves the creation of a resource space dedicated to the seabed.[97]
