It was named Fratelli Prada, which means "Prada Brothers" in Italian. Mario offered his customers quality accessories with exclusive design, made from the finest materials. In the early years after its founding, the Prada name became synonymous with elegant and practical luxury.
Mario Prada died in 1952.
In 1958, the leadership of Fratelli Prada passed to Louise, the daughter of Mario Prada. She managed to ensure that brand products began to be sold not only in Europe, but also abroad.
New era of Prada
In 1978, Miuccia Prada, the granddaughter of the founder of the company, met the Italian entrepreneur Patrizio Bertelli at an exhibition in Milan. At that time, Patrizio owned a leather goods factory.
In 1978, Miuccia Prada inherited from her mother Louise Prada SpA, a company that produced and sold leather goods.
In 1978, Patrizio Bertelli received an exclusive contract to manufacture and distribute Prada products.
In 1983, Prada opened its second store on the prestigious Via della Spiga in Milan.
In 1993, the company founded the brand. In the same year, the PradaMilanoArte project was launched, which in 1995 turned into the Fondazione Prada charitable cultural foundation.
In the mid 1990s. The fashion house has launched a men's line of clothing, shoes and accessories Prada.
In 1997, the Prada Sport line was launched, offering sport-casual outfits.
In 1999, the Prada Group acquired Jil Sander.
Development of the Fashion House
In 2000, the Prada Group became the owners of the Azzedine Alaia brand.
In 2001, the Prada Group acquired the Italian shoe brand Car Shoe.
In 2002, a Prada boutique was opened in Tretyakovskiy Proyezd in Moscow. By this time, 160 mono-brand stores of the Fashion House were operating all over the world.
In 2006, the Fashion House's net profit growth amounted to 52 million pounds. In the same year, Prada Group sold Jil Sander to Change Capital Partners, an investment corporation. In 2006, the Fashion House gained full control over the Church's brand by buying 55% of its shares.
The Devil Wears Prada by David Frankel was released in 2006. The main character of the picture, performed by Meryl Streep, has repeatedly appeared in the brand's kits.
In 2007, Azzedine Alaya bought 100% of his brand shares from Prada Group. The Italian company retained a license for the production of shoes and leather goods.
“I am incredibly grateful to the Prada Group for their continued and dedicated support of the Alaia brand over the past years. In particular, I would like to express my personal gratitude to Patrizio Bertelli for the attention and sensitivity shown to my work, and I wish his cause continued prosperity and growth.”
Azzedine Alaya
Carla Sozzani called the deal "the most unprecedented friendly action in the history of the Italian fashion business."
In 2008, the company allocated funds for the construction of a 20-meter transformer building in Seoul. The official opening of the constructor pavilion took place in April 2009 and was accompanied by the Prada exhibition. The new building can change the facade and floor configuration - take the form of a hexagon, cross, rectangle and sphere.
In 2009, the Fashion House released a 706-page book called Prada. It included timelines of the brand's development over the past thirty years, more than 4,000 photos from fashion shows, etc. New York studio 2?4 worked on the design of the book. The publication cost was $150.
“We wanted to fully reveal to readers all the many aspects and nuances of the world of Prada. After all, this is not just a brand, we have long gone beyond boutiques and showrooms. We have always provoked, looked for something new, strived for fashion to become something natural for the whole world. This is exactly what we wanted to talk about.”
In 2010, Prada launched a capsule collection of women's shopping bags made from eco-friendly materials. Abstract, geometric and floral patterns were used as prints.
In the same year, the brand introduced the Prada Print Collection for women. The basis for it was the sets from the archives of the 1950s. Fashion house. In this collection, Miuccia Prada offered many in silk and cotton.
New projects
In 2010, the Fashion House launched the Country of Origin project, within which it presented 4 collections: Scottish, Indian, Japanese and Peruvian. The Prada Made in Scotland line includes woolen ones; in the Prada Made in India collection, the brand introduced handmade outfits adorned with traditional Indian chinkari embroidery. Alpaca was present in the Prada Made in Peru series, the Prada Made in Japan collection included four different types of fabric.
- M/M Paris
In 2010, Prada released an exclusive collection of five T-shirts in collaboration with the French brand M/M Paris. Letters became the main print of the collaboration called Pradalphabet.
- Vahram Muratyan
In 2012, artist and blogger Vahram Muratyan created a limited collection of men's and women's T-shirts for Prada. They depicted accessories, boots, shoes, sunglasses, as well as other items and details of the Prada spring-summer 2012 collection.
- Dover Street Market
In December 2013, for the opening of the seven-story New York department store Dover Street Market, Prada released a capsule collection of women's clothing and accessories Prada Dover Street Market New York. It featured 12 items: pleated midi skirts, woolen skirts, sundresses, raincoats, bags, shoes, etc. The colors of the collection were brown, gray, olive and green.
In May 2014, Prada created a collection for Dover Street Market inspired by their own 2008 archives. It presented sets made of organza, dresses with a floral pattern.
- Lamborghini
In 2013, for the 50th anniversary of Lamborghini, Prada created an exclusive collection of men's luxury cars. The shoes were presented in three colors, blue, red and black, and are available for two weeks at Prada boutiques.
- Printemps
In 2013, for the Christmas holidays, Prada decorated the windows of the Parisian department store Printemps. The fashion house decorated the facade of the building with a giant Santa Claus on a 16-meter sleigh, decorated 11 shop windows with teddy bears.
- Neiman Marcus
In 2014, the Neiman Marcus for Prada limited collection went on sale. The American artist created pop-art prints depicting female portraits for the brand's bags.
Prada and the stage
In 1966, Prada created a wedding suit for Leonardo DiCaprio's Romeo in Romeo + Juliet by Baz Luhrmann.
In 2009, Prada designed the costumes for Giuseppe Verdi's opera Atilla, staged by the New York Metropolitan Opera.
In 2011, Prada created stage costumes for Meng Jinhu's Utopia of Love.
In 2012, Catherine Martin, costume designer for Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby, asked Prada to design outfits for the film. As a result of the collaboration, the Fashion House prepared 40 sets in the style of the 1920s. According to Miucci, she drew inspiration from the works of Francis Scott Fitzgerald and from the Prada archives.
“Baz and Miuccia have always been connected by their passionate desire to translate the classics into a modern language and use historical references in their work. This connection formed the basis of their work on The Great Gatsby.
Katherine Martin
Most of the outfits were created for the heroine Daisy Buchanan performed by Carey Mulligan: an orange embellished dress, a bustier dress with rhinestones and fringes, a blue outfit embroidered with sequins, etc.
From May 1 to May 12, 2013, an exhibition of costumes for the film The Great Gatsby opened in the New York Prada boutique.
In 2014, Prada created a luggage set for Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel. Each model is in accordance with the requirements of the 1930s. was supplemented with internal drawers and sliding compartments, which allowed representatives of high society to travel in comfort. All items have been personalized by artist Mike Casal. He applied the initials of the heroine Mdm to the leather of suitcases and travel trunks. C.V.D.u.T (Madame Céline Villeneuve Desgoffe und Taxis) in the style characteristic of that time.
Celebrity Choice
Prada fans include Cameron Diaz, Eva Longoria, Jessica Bill, Emily Blunt, Gwyneth Paltrow, Eva Mendes, Salma Hayek, Robert Pattinson, Adrien Brody, Rooney Mara, Diane Kruger, Scarlett Johansson, Christina Ricci, Ashton Kutcher, Michelle Williams, Mia Wasikowska , Kate Bosworth, Milla Jovovich, Julia Roberts and others.
Prada has a particular weakness for skirts.
“A few years ago I discovered pencil skirts. So now my main love is Prada skirts. They are very comfortable. When I wear them, I feel happy. I've been buying more and more and now I just can't stop wearing them."
Marc Jacobs
In 2013, the designer began to wear women's brands as well. At the premiere of The Great Gatsby, he wore a black coat with a floral white print from the Prada spring-summer 2013 collection. Anna Wintour chose the same set for this evening.
In 2014, Marc Jacobs and Katie Grand appeared together in matching fur coats from the Prada spring-summer 2014 collection.
In the same year, at the Free Arts NYC Art Auction evening, Mark chose the brand's blue women's coat embroidered with stones.
Official site: www.prada.com
The family leather goods company, founded by the Italian Mario Prada in 1913, grew into a large fashion house in the late 1980s, producing luxury clothing, accessories and perfumes under the management of Mario's granddaughter, Miuccia Prada.
Prada Discoveries
Signora Prada (Ed. - Michua Prada) is never afraid that she will not be "understood" and often goes against fashion trends and common trends. fashion critics
The very first collection of clothes, released by Prada in 1989, was notable for non-standard. At a time when everyone is wearing bright colors, Miuccia launches a collection almost entirely in black, using non-traditional materials and finishes: latex is decorated with beads and mirror fragments. Miucciu also had success when she replaced thick leather with light nylon in the production of bags. Subsequently, unusual combinations of materials, together with high-quality technologies and design, became the trademark of the Prada fashion house.
Fashion goes where Miuccia Prada looks. Famous aphorism
Faces of the Prada brand
Prada is one of the most fashion-integrated brands. It is difficult to name any well-known model that would not collaborate with Prada in one capacity or another. Among them:
- Lara Stone is the face of Prada Milano Infusion d`Iris perfume.
- Linda Evangelista is the face of the Prada fall-winter 2008-2009 collection.
- Sasha Pivovarova is the face of the Prada Resort 2013 collection.
- Also, Eva Herzigova, Saskia de Brau, Amber Valletta, Ukrainian model Irina Kravchenko and others were involved in Prada advertising.
Not so long ago, Prada began an experiment to attract famous actors to their advertising campaigns, but before that they had not “become familiar” in advertising. Among them are Gary Oldman and Willem Dafoe, Michael Pitt and Adrien Brody, Harvey Keitel and Benicio Del Toro. And the French actress Léa Seydoux became the face of the Prada Candy fragrance.
Prada logo and brand name
In memory of the fact that the Prada fashion house began as a company for the production of suitcases and bags, its logo retains its former appearance - a metal tag from a leather product. The inscription on the logo "Prada Milano 1913" contains information about the place, time and name of the creator of the brand.
Popular perfumery Prada
- Prada Eau de Parfum
- Infusion d'Homme
- Infusion d`Iris
- Infusion de Fleur d'Oranger
- Amber
- intensity
- Candy
- Tendre
- Infusion de tubereuse
Buy a bright Prada fragrance in the online store cosmetic.com.ua
Popular cosmetics Prada
Prada Beauty cosmetics are not yet as popular as the brand's perfumes. Prada moisturizers are especially distinguished.
- Prada Beauty Shielding Balm SPF 15 / Lip
- Prada Beauty Tendre Body Lotion For Women
Founding of Prada
The history of the brand began in Milan, where in 1913 Mario Prada opened a store selling elegant travel bags. The company was then called Fratelli Prada ("Prada Brothers"). Her know-how was the use for the production of soft walrus leather accessories. Exclusive material and excellent workmanship attracted the attention of wealthy clients to Fratelli Prada products.
By the end of the 1970s, demand for luxury python, walrus, and crocodile handbags plummeted. The company was on the verge of bankruptcy. Mario's granddaughter Prada Miuccia, who took over the brand in 1978, breathed new life into the Prada fashion house. In 1989, in addition to her leather collections, she launched her first clothing collection (and now does so regularly). And in 1992, a more democratic line of the Miu Miu brand appeared (a diminutive of the name "Miuccia").
Perfumes Prada conquers the market
The first fragrances of the brand were released in 2000. Their release was limited, and then it was possible to buy Prada perfumes only in the brand's boutiques. The beginning of perfumery “globalization” was Prada Eau de Parfum, released in mass circulation in 2004.
Infusion d`Iris was the next fragrance launched by Prada. Infusion d`Iris was created by perfumer Daniela Andrier, based on high-quality natural ingredients: orange, mandarin, iris, cedar and frankincense. The scent is refined, clean and fresh. The packaging design was personally developed by Miuccia Prada. The vintage-style rectangular flacon with the brand's signature light green cap is adorned with a metal "label" engraved with the Prada logo. This fragrance will mark the beginning of a new perfume line with the same name - Infusion d`Iris. One of the latest representatives of the series is Infusion d`Iris Eau de Parfum Absolue. It is an oriental variation on the iris theme, arranged with Tunisian neroli, orange blossom and vanilla from the island of Madagascar.
Prada owners
After a series of successful and not so successful mergers and acquisitions, Prada has become an international conglomerate of fashion houses and a direct competitor of the LVMN concern. In 1999-2000, Prada acquired the brands Fendi (then the company was sold to LVMN), Helmut Lang, Jil Sander, Azzedine Alaia. Prada is run by Miuccia Prada and her husband Patrizio Bertelli.
Manufacturers Prada
Prada is one of the few companies that has not yet moved its production facilities to Asian countries, partly due to the high cost of the brand's products.
Prada is one of the most famous fashion houses of our time, which every season pleases fashionistas and fashionistas not only with new collections of clothes, but also with collections of accessories, shoes, perfumes and, more recently, gadgets. But it all started as a small bag shop in Milan, and like all established brands, Prada's development path was not easy. Today we take a look at what the Prada story really is.
History of Prada
It was 1913, when an almost unknown Mario Prada decided to open a small shop in Milan and sell elegant travel bags of his own production there. This is how the first Prada store appeared in Milan, by the way, the headquarters of the Prada fashion house is still located in Milan. Thanks to the use of exotic materials, namely soft walrus leather, Prada quickly gained popularity among the elite throughout Europe and subsequently around the world. At that time, the trademark was called "Fratelli Prada", which meant Prada Brothers. Only when the daughter of Mario - Louise Prada became the head of the company, the brand received the modern abbreviated name Prada.
Louise Prada
In 1958, Louise Prada, the daughter of the founder of the fashion house, Mario Prada, becomes the head of the company and determines new trends in the development of the brand - entering new markets, or rather the American accessories market. Subsequently, Prada entered the American market in 1970. The most attractive for American aristocrats of that time was the use of exclusive materials for the manufacture and decoration of Prada bags - crystals, expensive woods and tortoise shells. But despite the elegance and exclusivity, Prada bags seemed bulky for everyday use and sales were very poor.
Miuccia Prada at the head of the fashion house
In 1979, when the Prada fashion house was threatened with a financial crisis, it was decided to appoint Miuchia Prada, the granddaughter of the Prada brand creator, as the head of the company. Subsequently, this decision will lead Prada to the world famous brand that the company is now.
Miuccia Prada
Having slightly tightened the financial position of the company, the new director of Prada, Miuchiya, decides to create a new direction in the manufactured products - ready-made designer clothes.
First Prada Collection
After many years, or rather 10 years after the appointment of Mario Prada's granddaughter as director of the company, Prada decides to master a new product segment - designer clothes, and in 1989 Prada debuts the first pret-a-porte collection of designer clothes. This collection was designed in soothing colors and the predominant color was black. All lines were simple and elegant without any sharp transitions, cuts or contrasts. Literally immediately after the release of the first collection of ready-to-wear, Prada received its regular customers who preferred elegant chic in clothes and accessories.
It was thanks to the first collection of clothes that Prada gained fame not only as an accessories brand, but also as a brand of chic and elegant designer clothes. Pradacreates a brandmiu miu
Miuccia Prada's main brand was doing well, but not all niches were closed in terms of apparel and accessories. Prada has already attempted to fill the niche of youth fashion, but has not been able to raise even the level of self-sufficiency and pay off the debts that the loss-making Roman fashion house Fendi had after buying Prada fashion house. Prada sold its stake in Rome-based fashion house Fendi to French company LVMH in the early 90s, saving Fendi's massive maintenance costs.
In 1992, Prada decides to create its own youth brand Miu Miu, the name of which was coined from the abbreviation of the name Miuchia Prada. At the moment, Miu Miu release fashionable designer clothes at affordable prices, but that's another story ... Fashion housePradaexpands the scope of activities
In the early 1990s, Prada expanded its accessories line with its own design and branded sunglasses. Interestingly, the glasses were produced in thick square frames of various colors, which at that time looked very strange and for this they received the nickname “Ugly Prada”. But over time, everyone got used to the unusual novelty and it was these glasses that became the hallmark of Prada.
Later, in collaboration with the Spanish company PUIG, the Prada fashion house acquires its own line of perfumes. 
Already in May 2007, Prada, together with LG Electronics, a manufacturer of cell phones and household appliances, released the first phone under the Prada brand, the model was called LG Prada (KE 850). The cost of the phone was $800, which meant that the phone was not available to the average buyer, and only rich people, who were Prada's main buyers, could afford it. 
Subsequently, 2 more Prada phones were released by the same manufacturer - LG Prada 2 (KF 900) in 2009 and LG Prada 3 (P 940) based on Android at the end of 2011. 
BrandPrada. Modernity
At the moment, Prada is one of the world's largest brands in the production and sale of luxury clothing, shoes and accessories, or premium, as they like to call it in our countries. Prada has many stores and boutiques under its own brand all over the world, in particular, 10 boutiques and 2 large branded stores in America in cities with a population of over a million, such as New York, Los Angeles, Washington, etc.
Also, Prada is working on a franchise with many retail chains for retailing clothes, shoes and accessories, which allows fashionistas and fashionistas to enjoy Prada products almost anywhere in the world. You can see all the addresses of branded stores of different brands in our section "Addresses of branded stores" It is generally accepted that the history of any brand is the history of its founders, those people who were able to go through all the difficulties and make their business known to the whole world. The founders of the fashion house succeeded, because in 2013 the team celebrated its centennial anniversary.
How it all began
Back in 1913, Mario Prada opened a small leather goods store in Milan. Soon he connected his brother Martino to the case. The bet was made precisely on high-quality bags and suitcases, which not everyone could afford. This strategy proved successful and the brand quickly became popular with foreigners. The bags were distinguished by a special chic: wooden handles, tortoise shell decor, a scattering of rhinestones and shimmering crystals.
After Mario's death, his daughter Louise took charge. She managed to establish sales in Europe and America. The course remained the same - impeccable quality and style. But by this time, the demand for bags had noticeably decreased, they seemed uncomfortable and cumbersome to buyers. The company began to face a financial crisis, and then a possible collapse.
New era with Miucia Prada
Prada fell into the hands of the enterprising granddaughter of the founder just in time. It was she who, from a small family business, created an influential fashion house that dictates trends for the new season. She could not have done it without the support of businessman Patrizio Bertelli, who later became her husband and CEO of Prada.
First of all, Miuccia decided to expand the range of the brand. So she began to produce clothes and shoes. Already in 1989, a new collection saw the light, which was distinguished by calm tones, with the dominance of black, simple lines and styles. She stood out against the backdrop of general kitsch, so she quickly gained fans, lovers of elegance and conciseness.
Another distinguishing feature of the brand is adherence to traditions, so it was decided not to produce inexpensive clothes within Prada, but to establish a separate youth brand - Miu Miu. Its name is a derivative of Headmistress Miuchiya's name. I must say that this decision was right, and unusual design solutions, bright colors were able to attract young people. At this time, the company still adheres to the course of expanding the range and begins to offer its customers sunglasses, underwear, accessories, fragrances and even smartphones. A little later, a men's line in the sport-casual style appeared.
2000-2014: development of the fashion house
The brand has come a long way in these ten years. In the early 2000s, the brands Azzedine Alaia, Car Shoe were bought. Already in 2002, the first boutique was opened in Moscow. By this time, there were 160 stores of the fashion house in the world. After 6 years, the company allocated funds for the construction of a huge transformer building in Seoul. At its opening, the brand's skirts were shown. In 2009, a voluminous book about the history of the company was published. Miuccia says that they were always looking for something new, provoking, and this book will be able to tell about this path. Soon a line of bags made of eco-friendly materials with abstract geometric and floral ornaments is coming out.
In 2010, an interesting project, Country of Origin, was launched, within which four completely different collections were released: Scottish, Peruvian, Japanese and Indian. Each featured fabrics and details specific to that particular country. This was followed in 2011 by a limited set of colorful travel bags and Christmas key chains in the form of animals dressed in stylish outfits. This year was rich in various projects: an extravagant collection of women's shoes comes out, which sends them to vintage cars that release flames. The popularity of the brand is also evidenced by the fact that famous Hollywood actors took part in the men's show of the autumn-winter collection. In 2012, the company was instructed to develop a uniform for the Italian sailing team for the next Olympic Games.
Several interesting projects were brought to life in 2014. In March, you could go to a Parisian boutique and design the shoes of your dreams. The client himself chose the model, color, material, decor and even the shade of the sole, and his initials were located immediately under the signature of the fashion house. And a month later, happy customers received their shoes delivered to their homes. As part of the furniture exhibition, several curved sofas are presented in discreet shades of emerald, purple and gold. In the same year, Miuccia Prada left the post of president of the company, but remains the creative director of Prada.
Prada in film and on stage
It all started with the creation of a costume for Romeo, whose role in the film "Romeo + Juliet" was played by Leonardo DiCaprio. In 2006, the film The Devil Wears Prada was released, and the main character appeared quite often in the brand's kits. Another significant project was the creation of costumes for the film The Great Gatsby. As part of this cooperation, 40 outfits were prepared. Miuccia said that she looked for inspiration not only in the works of Fitzgerald, but also in old collections. Then they were exhibited in a boutique in New York. In 2014, the company received an offer to produce a set of suitcases for the film The Grand Budapest Hotel. All models were supplemented with drawers in the spirit of that time.
The biggest collaborations
These include the following joint projects:
- In 2007, together with LG, a cell phone was introduced. The device even received several prestigious awards. A little later, another model with a keyboard - a slider - was released.
- In 2012, artist Vuhram Muratyan created a collection of printed T-shirts for the brand. They featured items of clothing, shoes and accessories featured in this year's collection.
- In 2013, a 12-piece set was released to celebrate the opening of the Dover Street Market department store in New York. The main colors were shades of brown, olive and gray.
- For the 50th anniversary of Lamborghini, exclusive men's moccasins were released in red, blue and black.
- Neiman Marcus designed amazing bags for the brand with pop art portraits of women.
Prada today
Today, Prada is a trendsetter for stylish women who want to look expensive and elegant. The company produces clothes, shoes, accessories and even perfume, and all this thanks to the inimitable Miuccia Prada. She refused to transfer production to Asian countries, so as not to lose in quality, as many large firms did. It was under her leadership that Prada became one of the iconic brands in the fashion world and gained fans among both ordinary women and celebrities. Paris Hilton, Anne Hathaway, Madonna, Cameron Diaz prefer laconic but stylish clothes and accessories.
