In the bustling city of New York, fashionable and modern women wearing Prada has become an imprinted image thanks to award-winning actresses Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway in the ‘Devil Wears Prada”. Prada is a renowned trendsetter and leading luxury brand worldwide. It has a market valuation of almost $14B with over 13 thousand employees and 633 globally owned stores.
But did it always start from here?
Far from it. Prada began as a small family business in Milan, Italy almost 108 years ago by Mario Prada selling only leather goods, trunks, and travel accessories.
Coming from a patriarchal family, Mario Prada did not believe women should play a role in business. His granddaughter Miuccia Prada however is a feminist at heart and had a different perspective on gender roles. She helmed the role of CEO in 1978 at the age of 29.
The younger and wilder days of Miuccia Prada
Despite generations of exposure to fashion, Miuccia said fashion was never her interest. She was a women’s rights activist during the ‘feminism wave’ in the ’70s, with a Ph.D. in political science. She was also part of the Italian Communist party, opposing new age capitalism.
“Fashion fosters cliches of beauty, but I want to tear them apart” - Miuccia Prada
But Miuccia had a deep-seated interest in arts and went on to become a professional mime for 5 years. Blending these different worlds to pursue a career in fashion seemed impossible, but Miuccia’s strong personality and characteristics were what she brought into the fashion world when she became the CEO.
“For me, art is about learning and about living with people. It’s alive.” - Miuccia Prada
How did they expand internationally without the internet?
With the help of her then soon-to-be husband Patrizio Bertelli, in 1979 Miuccia released backpacks, tote bags, and her first collection of shoes, expanding her product line. Prada started building its brand communication with short video ads, and it hit off well, to what in modern days what we call, “go viral”. They worked with distributors to get a wider reach of sales. They shifted gears setting up boutiques in prime areas of Italy and started moving into apparels.
Prada also released the triangle logo on its signature handbags which became its trademark. Despite Prada being a luxury good with high-quality fabrics and workmanship, it actively wanted to adopt an “anti-status” or “reverse snobbery” brand image.
Within 5 years, Miuccia Prada was not only expanding sales and branding of Prada across Italy, but also internationally in Paris, France, and New York City, US.
The hard criticism only made her stronger
It took 10 years from the time Miuccia Prada became the CEO of Prada, to release her first clothing line on the runway. The feedback she got though were devastating. Her designs were called ‘ugly’, ‘strange’, and ‘bad taste’ by legendary designers. The current trend at that time was vintage, but Miuccia Prada brought in extreme simplicity and clean lines, going against norms and expectations.
Given that it was her first runway debut how did Miuccia Prada react to those remarks? She took on a tasteful approach and in good spirits countered it saying, ‘Ugly is attractive, Ugly is exciting…Ugly is human’. She even went ahead and launched a campaign called the “Ugly Chic”.
“I always loved aesthetics. Not particularly fashion, but an idea of beauty.” - Miuccia Prada
How did the world react to Miuccia Prada? They fell in love with her style. Her designs sparked a revolution in the turn of the fashion industry in the ’90s, and eventually, it became known as a trendsetter.
Innovation
Miuccia Prada is revolutionary. She did not fear introducing something new and taking on precedence for something she believed strongly in. She brought in shoes, apparel, and fashionable bags for women with bold designs, differing from the norm and making it a trendsetter. They were among the first to start moving from luxury retail to an online platform. She started Miu Miu to penetrate the younger market, but also brought back the 50’s and 60’s look, calling in ‘Rebel Child’.
“Every day I’m thinking about change.” - Miuccia Prada
Prada is also taking heavy initiatives in environment sustenance by creating a re-nylon project which re-cycles land waste materials through its manufacturing plants.
Our takeaway…
Miuccia Prada took over Prada at revenue of $0.5M and grew its brand value to $14B. She is always in a relentless pursuit to make a difference and a firm believer that your personality, who you are within, is what you carry with you through the shift of time.
Artisan Story is a passion project by Mestrae in reaching out to a wider community who loves fashion and technology. Mestrae believes that fashion has to evolve to remain relevant to today’s modern times and needs.