Much ado about Miuccia

Much ado about Miuccia: the Prada family

Words Amie Elizabeth-White

Miuccia Prada. Photo: Brigitte Lacombe

The Origins

The Prada empire did not begin with Miuccia. In fact, if you start at the very beginning, it would have been a very unlikely bet that Miuccia would become the matriarch. 

Prada was founded in 1913 by Mario Prada and his brother Matrino. It was a leather goods shop housed in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II arcade and fast became known for its high-quality luxury travel accessories. It gained popularity amongst the nobility of Italy and by 1919, Prada was appointed the Official Supplier to the Italian Royal Household. Mario, a faithful Catholic and ardent conservative, did not believe in women having a role in business, so prevented female family members from entering the company. However, his son had no interest in the business, and in 1958 it fell to his daughter Luisa to succeed him. 

From a young age, Maria Bianchi knew she was cut a little different to her bourgeoisie family. She had an urge to do things a little offbeat, a craving to explore new ideas. She was (and remains) a staunch feminist, became an active member of the Communist party and earned a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Milan in 1973. But Maria Bianchi had a taste for beautiful things (she used to deliver political manifestos wearing Saint Laurent and emeralds), and it was this that brought her back to the family business. At 23, she entered the game designing accessories under her nickname, Miuccia, and managed one of the two Prada stores. One of her first pieces was a waterproof backpack made from nylon, a piece that didn’t hit it off straight away, but bares significance today. In 1978, Luisa passed the company on to her daughter and her future husband, Patrizio Bertelli. He began as a rival and ended up being an asset - Miuccia is known to have great judgement. He joined the company as the business advisor, and together they began to build a brand that was valued at 5.8 billion euros on January 1st of this year. It was Bertelli who told Miuccia to design clothes as well as bags, saying that he would hire someone else to do so if she didn’t. It was a delicious challenge, and one that Miuccia rose to, which in turn, raised her from impressive to incomparable. 

In 1979, Miuccia released her first collection of backpacks and totes. Why was the use of nylon and the backpack style so significant? The fabric was the same tough nylon that her grandfather had used to cover trunks when he first started the business, so you see that she was building on her heritage. The style, a rather strange and subversive choice, was in fact a statement of liberation for the modern woman. It gave the wearer freedom of movement, the ability to do what she needs to get done. In 1988 the first ready-to-wear show appeared on the runway featuring parkas made from nylon again. Durability, practicality and no compromise on style: it was luxury that was liveable, allowing women to do what they need to do and be who they want to be: a purpose that has galvanised Madame Prada all of these years. 

Prada, Original Vela Nylon Backpack

Earlier this year, the eldest of the couple’s sons joined the Prada group in an executive role, integrating the brands digital presence and the physical stores. When asked if he will succeed his parents when the time comes, Miuccia isn’t sure, but she isn’t concerned either. The Prada brand was and is a project for herself and her husband. For now, her son is just testing the business waters.

The Artistic Empire

Prada and Bertelli do not keep their creative endeavours to the fashion house alone. They also founded and manage the Fondazione Prada, an institute dedicated to contemporary art and culture.

Together, they have built an ever-expanding collection of works from artists old and new, and a permanent exhibition space in which art, dance, film and photography can all be shown. There is also a keen interest and investment in architecture, with ongoing projects and relationships with some of the biggest names in the architectural world. Where does this passion and perseverance come from? "Fashion moves so fast," Prada says. "I work on waves which break really quickly. You can catch them, or you miss them in no time at all. Architecture stretches out over many years, giving me a sense of the long term which I need to understand the world." Her relationship with the arts is also her solution to the somewhat contesting state of being politically active in mind and owning a fashion company. She knows that fashion, art, culture and politics are all connected, but to be taken seriously in the art world, divisions need to be made so that it cannot be said that one glamourises the other. One could argue that the fashion is an art form in itself, but that’s my personal sentiment coming through.

The Sisterhood: Miu Miu 

Whilst Prada the brand remains the bastion of the Prada family dynasty, Miu Miu is entirely personal. Known as ‘the sister’, Miuccia launched Miu Miu in 1993 as a place in which she can express a more playful side, offering a little French twist to the Prada style. The name, in case you hadn’t realised, comes from Miuccia, a nickname affectionately adorned on Mrs Prada by family and friends since she was a young age. The brand celebrates a more youthful freedom, however rather than being a ‘young’ Prada, Miuccia describes it as “immediate”: "Prada is very sophisticated and considered; Miu Miu is much more naïve." It is known that if Miuccia finds herself spending too much time on a particular design, she knows she's overthinking it. Enter the spontaneous, spirited, ironic and iconic Miu Miu brand. Without a doubt, it is a legacy in its own right, but the refreshing, radical and wonderful women that it celebrates? That’s Miuccia Prada. 

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