Miuccia Prada
| Miuccia Prada | |
|---|---|
| |
| Born | 10 May 1949
Milan, Italy |
| Died | |
| Alma mater | University of Milan |
| Years Active | 1978-present |
| Occupation | Co-CEO, Head of Design |
| Website | |
Miuccia Bianchi Prada (born Maria Bianchi, 10 May 1949) is an Italian fashion designer and the head designer of Prada. [1] She's also the founder of the subsidiary brand, Miu Miu which is also her nickname.[2]
Early Life
Bianchi was the second of three children, and she was born into a wealthy family. Her father, Luigi Bianchi, sold putting-green mowers. Her mother, Luisa, was the heiress to the luxury-goods company known as "Fratelli Prada" (The Prada brothers). Luisa became the head of the company in 1958.[3] Her grandfather had established the company in 1913.
Bianchi earned her Ph.D. in Political Science in 1973 from the University of Milan. Her political ideology was left-wing and she was vocal about feminism. She later became a member of the Italian Communist Party, whilst regularly handing out flyers for demonstrations. She also studied for five years to become a mime at Teatro Piccolo in Milan.[4]
Career
1970s
Bianchi joined the Prada family business in 1970 and managed one of its two remaining stores. In 1978 she succeeded her mother as head of the company, which had by then shrunk to only a single store. —She hired the Italian businessman Patrizio Bertelli as her primary supplier, he was a leather-goods manufacturer whom she had met the previous year at a trade fair where he was selling Fratelli Prada knockoffs. As the new head designer, she started working towards reviving the company. One of the earliest bags she launched was an unlabelled set of handbags that were made out of Pocono nylon, which is a water-resistant fabric which is a frequently used fabric for military tents. The line, which she released in 1979, didn't have any initial success.[5]
1980s
In the 1980s, she began to globally expand the company, opening additional stores beginning in 1983 and launching a shoe line in 1984. She also relaunched a new set of Pocono handbags in 1985, redesigned with a gold chain strap and the triangular signature logo that would later become the brand’s trademark. The bags had some resemblance to the expensive leather Chanel handbags, which could have been one of the reasons why the sales of the Pocono handbags were soaring. With the bags carried by the fashion elite, including actress and model, Jerry Hall.[6]
Bianchi wanted to officially carry the name of 'Prada', so in the late 1980's, she had her mother's unmarried sister adopt her so she could legally change her name.[7] She married Bertelli in 1987.[8] The following year she debuted her first ever ready-to-wear collection, which featured parkas out of nylon amongst some of the garments, which offered her customers a durability without sacrificing style. Pradas' progressive ideals were often reflected in her designs, which imparted an understated glamour and a refined elegance, that proved that it's possible to be successful without catering towards sex appeal, and forever making the fashion industry reevaluate the term "sex sells." Clean, simple lines and muted, basic colours were paired with luxurious fabrics and exquisite tailoring to achieve a tasteful look that flattered the figure while preserving modesty. At the close of a decade of excess, Prada’s idea of casual luxury caught on, and the brand quickly became associated with confident, intellectual, and affluent working women.[9]
1990s
In the early 1990s Prada continued to expand the brand, launching a perfume line and the subsidiary brand, Miu Miu in 1992. A year later she founded with Patrizio, the PradaMilanoarte, later renamed the Prada Foundation (Fondazione Prada), a nonprofit organisation dedicated to the support of various up-and-coming contemporary designers and artists. The same year, 1995, she launched her first menswear line whilst also gathering international recognition due to Uma Thurman wearing one of her gowns to the Academy Awards.[10]
In 1996 Prada and Bertelli formally merged their respective operations to form Prapar BV (later renamed Prada SpA), a holding company for the Prada Group of businesses, with Bertelli serving as its Chief Executive Officer. In 1997 Prada released a line of activewear, Prada Sport, later renamed Linea Rossa (“Red Line”). Two years later Prada and Bertelli initiated a string of high-profile acquisitions—including the Helmut Lang and Jil Sander fashion houses as well as a stake in fashion companies including Fendi—transforming the Prada Group into a multimillion-dollar fashion conglomerate.[11]
2000s
2010s
2020s
On April the second, 2020, Raf Simons joined her as the co-Creative director, working with equal responsibilities for creative input and decision making for the Prada brand. Their first Prada collection designed by the pair was Spring/Summer 2021 womenswear show, which was presented in Milan in September 2020.[12]
Style
Techniques
The Techniques sub-section should include a specific and analytical summary of a person's recurring techniques, as demonstrated and well-cited from their body of work.
Themes
The Themes sub-section should include a specific and analytical summary of a person's recurring themes, as demonstrated and well-cited from their body of work.
Collections
The Collections section should include a wikitable in the style below. If a person has not contributed to collections, editors may forgo the inclusion of a Collections section. If a person has designed or worked for more than one brand, additional wikitables should be created and arranged vertically from earliest to latest. Columns for Notes may include notable information such as the collection number.
| Title | Season | Date | Location | Looks | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Example | Example | Example | Example | Example | Example |
| Example | Example | Example | Example | Example | Example |
| Example | Example | Example | Example | Example | Example |
| Example | Example | Example | Example | Example | Example |
References
The References section should include well-formatted and consistent citations in either APA or Chicago style, including author-date referencing (i.e. APA style) for in-text citations.
External Links
The External Links section should include external resources, such as photographs of collections and other types of digital documentation.
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20111013183503/http://www.vogue.co.uk/spy/biographies/miuccia-prada-biography
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20111013183503/http://www.vogue.co.uk/spy/biographies/miuccia-prada-biography#:~:text=%E2%80%A2%20In%201992%2C%20she%20debuted%20the%20less%20expensive%20Miu%20Miu%20(Miuccia%27s%20nickname)%2C%20inspired%20by%20her%20personal%20wardrobe
- ↑ https://www.britannica.com/biography/Miuccia-Prada#:~:text=The%20second%20of,head%20in%201958
- ↑ https://www.britannica.com/biography/Miuccia-Prada#:~:text=Initially%20an%20aspiring,in%20Milan.
- ↑ https://www.britannica.com/biography/Miuccia-Prada#:~:text=One%20of%20her%20earliest%20ideas%20included%20fashioning%20a%20line%20of%20unlabeled%20handbags%20out%20of%20a%20then%20unorthodox%20fabric%20called%20Pocono%20nylon%E2%80%94the%20durable%20water%2Dresistant%20fabric%20often%20used%20to%20make%20military%20tents.%20However%2C%20the%20line%2C%20launched%20in%201979%2C%20was%20not%20immediately%20successful.
- ↑ https://www.britannica.com/biography/Miuccia-Prada#:~:text=In%20the%201980s,Jerry%20Hall.
- ↑ https://www.britannica.com/biography/Miuccia-Prada#:~:text=To%20officially%20hold%20the%20surname%20of%20Prada%2C%20Bianchi%20had%20her%20mother%E2%80%99s%20unmarried%20sister%20adopt%20her%20in%20the%20late%201980s%20and%20thereafter%20legally%20changed%20her%20name.
- ↑ https://www.britannica.com/biography/Miuccia-Prada#:~:text=In%201987%20she%20wed%20Bertelli.
- ↑ https://www.britannica.com/biography/Miuccia-Prada#:~:text=Prada%E2%80%99s%20progressive%20ideals,affluent%20working%20women.
- ↑ https://www.britannica.com/biography/Miuccia-Prada#:~:text=In%20the%20early,international%20status%20symbol.
- ↑ https://www.britannica.com/biography/Miuccia-Prada#:~:text=In%201996%20Prada,dollar%20fashion%20conglomerate.
- ↑ https://www.prada.com/se/en/pradasphere/special-projects/2020/miuccia-prada-raf-simons.html#:~:text=From%202%20April,in%20September%202020.