PRADA, PRADA, PRADA
WE LOVE YOU (period).
BIOGRAPHY
Luigi- The Prada Life
In case you have been living under a rock for the past few decades, I would like to introduce you to my favorite designer, Miuccia Prada. In The World's Most Influential Fashion Designers, this is what was said about Miuccia Prada and her influence, "Miuccia Prada became a major force in trendsetting in the 1990s, and has continued into the 21st Century. She has managed to keep her brand at the forefront of fashion because of her forceful desire for change and reexaminations of everything from craft, femininity, beauty and maturity to the ultimate question of what clothing means in the contemporary context" (Lovinski pg. 68). Born Maria Bianchi on May 10, 1949 in northern Italy, she was born into the world of luxury. She was the granddaughter of Mario Prada, who is the founder of the Prada company. Prada was introduced in 1913 and was a company that focused strictly on luxury leather bags and was quite successful in Italy. Seeking differentiation from her famous family she decided to attend schooling where she obtained a PhD in Political Science and studied mime at the famous Teatro Piccolo. While she was her her primary studies she fell in love with her future husband, Patrizio Bertelli (who is a major contributor to the Prada company and its retail strategies). Hesitant to following in her family's footsteps, she took over the company in 1978. Itching to make changes with the company, she opened Prada's first store in Milan in 1983. Over the course of the 1980's, many other changes occured within the company including the introduction of footwear, the famous waterproof nylon backpack, and Prada's first ready-to-wear collection. Prada's first ready-to-wear collection took center stage in 1989 and was critically structinized by fashion critics everywhere who called the collection "ugly and drab". By 1992, Prada wanted to reach another target market with less expensive clothing and produced the famous Miu Miu line named after her nickname. Just four years after the critics called her fashion designs ugly and drab, Miuccia Prada won an award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America for International Designers. By 1994 she was showing at New York Fashion Week and started taking over the world little by little, having 40 stores, 20 of which were in Japan. Adding to the success of the brand from 1995 to 2006 Prada introduced Prada Sport, Menswear, fragrance, and acquired Fendi, Jil Sander, Helmut Lang, and Azzedire Alaia to the company. Today, Prada has 250 stores in 65 countries.
Biography Section- (Lovinski- The World's Most Influential Fashion Designers pg. 68-71, http://www.lifeinitaly.com/fashion/prada.asp ).
EARLY INFLUENCES
Miuccia Prada's early influences would define what Prada today is all about. Prada is often times referred to as minimalistic, feminine, and ironically chic. During the 1970's Prada was a member of the Communist Party and fought for women's rights in Milan, Italy. Through her studies, Prada learned what it meant to be an independent woman and wanted to bring that to the table especially for herself. Her early influences would also include her famous family and their successful business. Her family's heritage was to live the life of luxury which their brand of leather bags was all about.
Early Influences- (http://www.vogue.com/voguepedia/Miuccia_Prada).
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| http://www.lifeinitaly.com/fashion/prada.asp DESIGNS   CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Due to the cultural revolution of the 1970's, clothing would ultimately be changed forever. Whenever Miuccia Prada took over her families business in 1978, the disco wave was trending throughout the world. Prada was designing in the world where iconic designers such as Halston was defining what was being worn and calling the shots. Prada wanted to change everything the world ever knew about fashion trends before. Her work reflected the femininity of the woman without her having to dress like a man to be respected in the workplace (which was a huge trend in women's workplace attire during the 1970's). Prada discusses her thinking process as been different from everyone other designer, "I follow my instinct, and even if a question arises whether what I am doing makes perfect sense to me or others, in reality the important thing is that I truly believe in it" (Lovinski pg. 68). We can determine that Prada did not want to follow trends but, set them. During the 1980's when neon colors were trending, Prada took a different direction and produced her first collection every filled with all black garments. As we all know that this ready-to-wear collection was highly criticized by the critics. However, her designs did define the zeitgeist or spirit of the times because she designed clothing revolved around what the modern working woman could and could not wear in the workplace. Plus, her designs in general pushed the limits of what was ordinary or expected from the past, introducing the power of a woman.
There are also a number of designers that inspired Miuccia Prada which include: Jil Sander, Balenciaga, Rei Kawakubo, Karl Lagerfeld, and Biba. Prada fell in love with the starkness, simplicity, and functionalism of Jill Sander, therefore it is no surprise that Jil Sander was acquired by Prada Group. Balenciaga is known for hard tailoring and perfection which can be seen in almost all of Prada's collections. Just like Rei Kawakubo, "Prada has continually tried to redefine the ideal of beauty and discourages the notion that femininity must be contingent on coquetry" (Lovinski pg. 70). Looking at Karl Lagerfeld, we have noticed over time that he and Prada believe in the same unusual proportions and strangeness found in their silhouettes. And last but not least, Biba influenced Miuccia Prada's Miu Miu line through Biba's design aesthetic of almost doll like femininity.
Critical Analysis- (Lovinski- The World's Most Influential Fashion Designers pg. 68-71)
ANALYSIS OF FUTURE TRENDS
Miuccia Prada inspired a handful of designers still to this very day which include: Behnaz Sarafpour, Christopher Bailey for Burberry, Phillip Lim, Proenza Schouler, and Tomas Maier for Bottega Veneta. We will start with Behnaz Sarafpour's spring collections from 2008 and 2010 which featured lace details in their silhouettes coming down the runway which was popularized by Prada. Whenever Christopher Bailey designs for Burberry he often uses the same color palettes, shapes, and certain silhouettes that Prada was so famous for in the 1990's. Continuing with the trends that Prada popularized during the 1990's comes the military look in which designer Phillip Lim used in his spring 2010 collection. Prada has been well known for using colored textural fabrics and geometric shapes that can been seen in Proenza Schouler's fall 2006 collection. Another A-List design firm, Bottega Veneta, and the firms designer Tomas Maier created a collection in Pre-Fall 2009 which featured the famous muted purples and wines that Prada is known for. The collection also featured long gloves, opaque tights, and clunky heels that Prada loved to put down the runway season after season.
The image below features the military look which has been constantly repeated and seen in fashion trends every since Prada was the first designer to really establish the trend in 1990. The military look will never fully go out of style for it will be constantly evolving throughout years to come.
StyleSight.com Prada 2010
Prada is also very well known for designing corky shoes and iconic handbags both of which have made an impact in the fashion world. These trends have inspired others to follow in Prada's footsteps and create timeless handbags and signature shoes.
StyleSight.com Prada F/W 2012
StyleSight.com F/W 2012
It is also my personal opinion that Prada's coined term, "Ugly Chic" is a significant trend especially when we consider the lace dresses Prada is known for putting down the runways.
Analysis of Future Trends- (Lovinski- The World's Most Influential Fashion Designers pg. 68-71) (StyleSight.com).
THE FASHION WORLD WAITS FOR WHAT IS TO COME FROM MIUCCIA PRADA! .jpg) Works Cited
Campaign, Prada 2012. YouTube. n.d. 2012
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgaGXv1XnrA.
Lovinski, Noel Palomo. The World's Most
Influential Fashion Designers. Hauppauge, New York: Barron's Educational
Series, Inc., 2010.
Paracchini, Gian Luigi. The Prada Life. B.C.
Dalai editore- Publishers since 1897, n.d.
Prada. Life In Italy. n.d. 2012
http://www.lifeinitaly.com/fashion/prada.asp.
Style Sight.
n.d.
Vogue. n.d.
2012 http://www.vogue.com/voguepedia/Miuccia_Prada.
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