All Miuccia Prada in 7 memorable sentences

Miuccia Prada: a name, a legend. In the environment and offices of her headquarters, she is “the lady” for everyone. However, Maria Bianchi is born in Milan on 10 May 1949 to Gino Bianchi and Luisa Prada, she is the granddaughter of Mario Prada who in 1913 founded in Milan what would one day become (with her niece) one of the most prestigious maisons in the world.

Graduated from the Giovanni Berchet classical high school in Milan, she continued her university studies in Political Science and then joined the family business in 1971. It was only the beginning of a long and successful career, which we retrace here through 7 precious maxims of the Italian designer.

“You have to do the things you believe in and in the end you will earn”: with its assets of 5.3 billion euros, in 2021 the ranking published by Forbes It placed Miuccia Prada in 10th place among the richest women in Italy, and 565th in the world. But Mrs. Prada’s economic success is also the result of a business-oriented mind and smart thinking outside the box, anticipating trends and – always – making fashion a mirror of social and cultural changes. First of all, it was her idea in 1978 to introduce the production of clothing into the company. Contributing to the success of the brand, now co-directed by Miuccia together with her chosen one Raf Simons, was also the work of husband Patrizio Bertelli (today he heads the company as President of the Prada group), whom he met in 1977 and married a year later.

Instantaneous, therefore concrete, pragmatic. For Miuccia Prada, «what you wear is your way of presenting yourself to the world, especially today that we live in an era where human contact is so rapid». The predilection for immediacy translates into his stylistic code: the sartorial executions go straight to the point, without frills or doodles, making themselves the intermediary of a utility style that mirrors its time and which never gives up on femininity. Speaking of immediacy, the maison owes the invention of the famous logo to Miuccia Prada: the inverted triangle that takes its inspiration from the buckle of trunks that in ancient times was used to produce the grandfather.

Change would seem to be a theme that never and then scared Miuccia Prada. Her response to the pandemic proved this, when at the outbreak of the coronavirus she made a virtue of necessity by using digital channels for her fashion shows and keeping the dialogue alive on the use of technology also with the community.

Necessary parenthesis regarding the changes in the world is the strategic positioning of its brand also in the Asian market: the Prada maison is a highly successful case study for those who look with interest at Chinese consumers, a success that reflects on Italy itself as demonstrated by the fashion show of the Spring-Summer 2022 collection, held simultaneously in both Milan and Shanghai. Thanks once again to technology, which allowed the guests of both cities to interact with each other through maxi-screens that canceled any distance.

Anticipate where fashion is going, but also market trends. Among the most coveted and desired Prada bags, the one in Pocono stands out, a type of nylon patented by her which saw the first proposals debut in the early eighties. Of more recent times is instead the re-edition of the same bag, which has become a fetish accessory among it-girls and fashionistas.

“I was a feminist in the 70s. The worst I could have done would have been to work in fashion»the Italian designer said in an interview with Milan Finance. And yet, Miuccia Prada managed to embrace her mission with philosophy, intelligence and a sense of discernment, ascertaining that her collections could be – as they still are today – advocates of the change she would like to see in the world . Here is the Prada woman – strong by definition – treading the catwalks of Milan in the name of a glamor well planted with her feet on the ground, never too ethereal, never frivolous.

Pink for strong and sensitive women, and strong and sensitive men in pink as well. «I know that to wear it you have to be in a really positive mood – said Miuccia Prada. – When I wear pink it’s kind of a challenge, because the days when you’re in a really good mood aren’t that frequent.”. Although the foundation of the Miu Miu fashion house in 1993 (the year in which Fondazione Prada was also born in Milan) highlighted two different targets and moods, the glamorous flair of pink is often omnipresent even in Prada. Without distinction between the male and female wardrobes, which on the contrary dialogue fluidly under the banner of a unique identity expression as it is.

Everything Gianni Versace, in 7 unforgettable sentences

Emblematic name of 20th century fashion, Gianni Versace was a designer “of his time” and of what is yet to come. His artistic legacy, celebrated today in the creative vision of his sister Donatella, lives on in these 7 precious maxims

Champion of ugly-chic fashion, Miuccia Prada was the first to initiate the debate on ugly. By experiencing it firsthand in his collections, whatever the press said, however the public reacted. Because fashion, to be the bearer of a message, must also be able to provoke, invite reflection, and Mrs. Prada teaches us this. What is ugliness? She asked herself for the first time in the Spring-Summer 1996 collection, exploring bad taste and making it – forever – a new status symbol of luxury. And who would have ever thought that, one day, her surname would even inspire the title of the most famous fashion film.