The Italian fashion house is the world’s hottest brand, according to the recently published Lyst Index report.
Quiet luxury might be trending lately, but Italian fashion house Prada has been doing low-key luxury for more than one hundred years. Founded in 1913 by Mario Prada and his brother Martino, Fratelli Prada, as it was originally called, was a small leather goods shop in Milan, Italy. Just six years later, the brand got its first big break when it was awarded the title of Official Supplier of the Italian Royal House. With that, Prada’s distinctive logo — a triangle displaying the House of Savoy coat of arms —was born.
In 1958, Mario’s daughter Luisa took the reins at Prada, running the family business successfully for nearly two decades. But it was her daughter Miuccia, who after joining the company in 1970, turned it into the global luxury goods powerhouse it is today.
Known for its clean lines, sophisticated design, and anti-status concept, under Miuccia’s watch, Prada opened flagship stores in London, Madrid, Tokyo, and Paris — all painted in a signature green hue known as “Prada Green.” In 1979, Miuccia released a set of nylon backpacks and totes through a collaboration with leather goods entrepreneur Patrizio Bertelli, whom she later married. In 1984, Prada introduced the industrial-style Vela backpack, proving that practicality is a form of luxury.
But it wasn’t until the 1990s that Prada and its “ugly chic” aesthetic became a luxury status symbol. In 1996, the brand opened an 18,000-square-foot boutique in Manhattan, the largest of its 40 House of Prada locations worldwide. That same year, Baz Luhrmann’s film “Romeo + Juliet” opened, featuring the actress Claire Danes wearing a Prada-designed white dress with angel wings.
“For me it is important to anticipate where fashion is heading.”
—Miuccia Prada, Prada creative director
By 2006, Prada became a true cultural phenomenon with its name on the marquee in the fashionista coming-of-age film “The Devil Wears Prada.” “Prada has managed to gain such a high level of international renown that it has even captured the attention of literature and the movie industry, to testify the fact that this brand is now synonymous with elegance and style,” the Prada Group said in a statement about the film and book it was based on.
In 2020, Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli, the creative director and chief executive of the Prada Group, named Belgian designer Raf Simons as co-creative director, in an innovative move that would reshape the fashion world and the evolution of creativity within it. Today, this thinking woman’s brand continues to grow, with 3.25 million euros in retail sales in 2022. More recently, Prada commanded the top spot on the Lyst Index’s hottest brands in the world for the second year in a row, with its younger sister brand Miu Miu ranking fourth.
With locations at Ala Moana Center, Miami Design District, The Shops at The Bravern, and Tysons Galleria, Brookfield Properties is proud to partner with this Italian fashion house. As we focus on our goal of revolutionizing retail real estate, we look to forward-thinking brands like Prada that value transformation, innovation, and cutting-edge style.
- 4 Brookfield Properties locations
- 60 Brick-and-mortar stores
- $27.15 trillion Luxury fashion industry
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