Establishing a world renowned fashion house is one thing and sustaining it as such is quite another. Prada is a befitting example. Though founded by Mario Prada in 1913, the brand has witnessed unprecedented glory under the creative leadership of his granddaughter Miuccia Prada. Read on for interesting tidbits from its 100 year history…
• In 1919, merely 6 years after it was founded, Prada became an official travel bags supplier to the Italian Royal Family.
• Miuccia Prada started the Miu Miu accessories and clothing collection. The name of the collection is inspired by her nickname.
• The Miu Miu clothing collection was nominally priced so that a greater number of people could afford it and its designs were directly inspired by Miuccia’s wardrobe.
• The classic Prada suitcase was made of heavy walrus skin. Mario Prada even used tortoise shell in the bags he initially made.
• Prada has a popular eyewear range that was first launched in 1999.
• Prada also has its own line of cellphones, launched in 2006, with electronics partner LG. It is known as the LG Prada or the LG KE850 and there have been two more versions since. That’s not all – the LG Prada is touted as the world’s first completely touch-screen mobile phone, not requiring the traditional keypad anymore!
• Fendi was owned by Prada before they sold it off to LVMH, the group that also owns Louis Vuitton.
• In fact, acquisitions such as Fendi, Helmut Lang and Jill Sanders helped Prada tide over the global financial crisis. It was able to sell these brands and maintain a debt-free status during those crucial years when world financial health was precipitating.
• Miuccia has a slide from her third floor Milan office building that she sometimes rides down to the ground floor! It was designed by Carsten Höller.
• Mario Prada did not want women from his family to take part in running the business! But as fate would have it, his daughter Luisa Prada took over from him and ran it successfully for 20 years! Reminds me so much of our own Raj Kapoor. Ironically, the fashion house is at the helm of glory since its inception under his granddaughter Miuccia, much as the hugely successful and sought-after granddaughters of The Showman – Kareena and Karishma.
• The phrase ‘Devil Wears Prada’ conveys that elegance in dressing is no guarantee the wearer won’t be rude or outright mean – that’s how synonymous the brand name is with sartorial finery. There is a novel and movie by the same name as well.
Hope you enjoyed the compilation as much as I did scouting for them!
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