In the October issue of Vogue Fashion and Beauty, the transparent and free Shu Qi appeared on our cover for the seventh time, exuding charm freely and freely in the overlapping light and shadow.
Black decorated tassel coat, silver headband are Prada
The old friend on the cover is not only Shu Qi, but also the Prada she wears. Counting the wonderful covers of these years, Prada has never been absent.
Diversified female perspectives and constantly subverted personality expressions, in this fashion industry that is often regarded as superficial, mediocre external beauty and popularity are never what Prada pursues. The reason is that we have to start with Miuccia Prada, an unusual woman.
"I hate the idea of everybody wearing Prada".
The person who said this was Miuccia Prada herself.
It may be difficult to understand, whether from the perspective of the designer or from the perspective of the operator.
But long before becoming a designer and entrepreneur, Miuccia was an intellectual first. Intellectuals always have their "twisting" side, which can be attributed to their inability to tolerate mediocrity and unwillingness to follow the trend.
She loves the works of the 18th and 19th centuries, and has dabbled in Russian, French, German, and Japanese literature; she grew up under the influence of the Italian New Wave movies in the 1960s, sometimes watching three movies a day; she is obsessed with the art of pantomime , Studied and performed for five years; she studied politics at university and obtained a doctorate degree. During this period, she joined the Italian Communist Party and became a feminist, with the human dream of realizing justice, moving towards equality, and reviving morality.
Miuccia took to the streets and shouted political ideals
But on the other hand, she pays attention to appearance and likes fashion. At the age of 14, she was the first person in school to wear hippie style; in college, when her fellow comrades took to the streets wearing jeans and sneakers, she insisted on wearing skirts.
In 1978, she took over Prada from her mother, "As a leftist feminist, but doing fashion, I felt terrible and ashamed at that time."
Working in fashion design is "superficial work". It is something that interests young people who are caught up in consumerism. It means that a highly educated person must "discard her head"... When she was young, Miuccia had such entanglements, contradictions, and struggles. His mentality was "forced" to stay away from the political and theatrical world and join the fashion industry.
As if provoking the inherent rules of the industry, in 1984, Miuccia Prada launched a backpack made of "military tent nylon". This move can even be regarded as "radical" because it is industrial, practical and casual. , Violates all "luxury" principles.
Prada nylon backpack appeared in Vogue
But Prada is red, and people want this bag. An enduring "it bag" was born, and it has been popular today.
Launched in September 2020
Brand new Prada recycled nylon backpack
"At first everyone hated what I did, except for a few smart people, because it was not classic, it was to a certain extent to disrupt the situation; and for those trendy and avant-garde, it was too classic. . I have been going back and forth between the two, never pleasing anyone."
Miuccia continued to "carry forward this rebellion": In the 1994 autumn and winter series, she applied nylon to ready-to-wear, breaking the rules of "high fashion" again-
She used stockings with high heels, knee-length skirts with platform shoes... We can list many Miuccia's "anti-traditional" designs. They look weird at first glance, but they are still popular today. The 2020 autumn and winter show, the thick soles, the combination of stockings and high heels are all Prada-style formulas we are most familiar with.
The former nylon fabric has been upgraded again-the skirt is made of PELLE OVO TEC REC microfiber yarn, and EXTREME TEX is a composite fabric made of post-consumer recycled polyester fiber materials:
"Ugliness is tempting, ugliness is exciting. Maybe because it is new. To me, exploring ugliness is much more interesting than pursuing middle-class beauty."
Bad taste has turned into good taste, and criticism has evolved into praise, but Miuccia has not changed. Her designs are always full of fun, but people have discovered the meaning behind it and began to pursue it all. But she doesn't need to be so sought after, "I just want to do something meaningful, good or bad. Maybe the only thing I fear is boredom."
In 1996, Miuccia wore a snakeskin jacket,
Purple stockings and red platform shoes attend the VH1 Fashion Awards
In 1913, Miuccia's grandfather founded Prada leather goods store for the rich in Milan's pursuit of fashion, and also won the title of "Official Supplier of the Italian Royal Family". However, this maternal grandfather has a strong patriarchal mind, and does not want women in the family to participate in the work.
Ironically, the only son of the family had no interest in running a business, and could only be taken over by Luisa Prada, Miuccia's mother, who had been in business for nearly 20 years.
Beginning in the mid-1970s, Miuccia gradually returned to the family business and continued to design bags with her mother.
At a leather exhibition in 1977, she met Patrizio Bertelli, the owner of a leather company, and the dramatic story began-Miuccia found out that there was an imitation of his leather bag on his booth, "You copied mine. Something!" But after calming down, Miuccia thought that Bertelli's craftsmanship was indeed very good, and he simply established a cooperative relationship with him. Later, this relationship extended to their personal lives. After eight years of acquaintance, they became husband and wife.
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Patrizio Bertelli and Miuccia Prada
Patrizio Bertelli has a keen operator, he prompted Miuccia to launch women's shoes and ready-to-wear lines, expanding Prada's business. By the early 1990s, Prada had transformed from a traditional leather goods brand into a highly sought after luxury brand in the fashion industry.
Prada's first autumn and winter collection
Appeared at the Milan Fashion Show in 1988
The core that underpins the continued growth of the business is Miuccia's creativity and foresight-she saw early that the "idea" is more decisive than using craftsmanship and materials to define luxury goods.
The Miuccia's use of nylon fabrics mentioned above is the best example. Not only bags and ready-to-wear, Miuccia Prada also launched the Linea Rossa series based on high-tech nylon fabrics in the late 1990s, pioneering a futuristic sports and leisure style. Against the background of today's environmental protection, it is wiser to switch from single leather goods to sustainable synthetic fabrics. The best proof is that Linea Rossa returned to the stage in 2018 and became popular again.
In constant changes, Prada has become a company with a market value of 2.75 billion pounds. "I make my own money. This is a big event for women." A former young literary girl finally took up her family business and became a member of the "WTO". At the helm of the big group.
Photography: Brigitte Lacombe
But the most commendable thing is that her "heart of birth" full of humanism has never been discarded——
In 1993, she established the Prada Foundation to organize and support contemporary art exhibitions and some cultural activities; in May 2011, the Prada Foundation opened an exhibition space overlooking the Grand Canal in the Queen's Palace in Venice, and was responsible for the restoration of the Queen's Palace; The Milan Pavilion of the Prada Foundation, which was completed in 2015, hosts art and cultural exhibitions throughout the year, and is regarded as a platform that reflects the pulse of the current era.
Prada Foundation Milan venue
"The Porcelain Room" currently on display,
Mainly export porcelain from China
In Shanghai, the Prada Foundation spent six years repairing the Rongzhai, which was built in 1918. "My purpose is to do something that is respectful (to China)." Here you can not only glimpse Prada's architectural aesthetics. More importantly, it has established a space for cultural exchanges. Not long ago, director, producer and writer Jia Zhangke presented a specific field creation called "Mian MIÀN" here.
Eating noodles, superficially, meeting, seeing the diversity of the world from the ambiguity of "noodles", bringing people from different fields together to discuss topics such as literature, film, architecture and contemporary thinking.
Jia Zhangke talks with Wen Qi, Qi Xi and Liao Fan on "The Performing Side"
As a "movie fan" who is obsessed with Antonioni, Fellini, and Bertolucci, Miuccia has always expressed her love for movies in her own way——
Miuccia only launched the menswear line in 1993. In the 1996 movie "Romeo and Juliet", DiCaprio had already put on her custom-made suit, including the silk-printed tie; Claire Danes's white dress with wings at the ball Also from Miuccia's design:
"The Great Gatsby" 17 years later, still starring DiCaprio. Miuccia collaborated with film costume designer Catherine Martin to design more than 40 styles for the character, recreating the pursuit of the rich American East Coast in the 1920s European style:
She worked closely with Wes Anderson, the favorite director of literary youth, who filmed two short films, Castello Cavalcanti and Candy, for Prada in 2013:
Then Miuccia designed 21 suitcases for the noble wife played by Tilda Swinton in Anderson's film "The Grand Budapest Hotel":
Another year later, Miuccia asked Anderson to do interior design for the Bar Luce Bright Bar of the Prada Milan Foundation, as if to bring his movie scenes to reality:
It should be said that the relationship between Miuccia and art is passionate and spontaneous. Just like the indispensable candy color in Wes Anderson movies, it's romantic, pure, and unadulterated.
A celebrity is linked to politics, which is risky to some extent, especially when the person is a wealthy and successful fashion designer. She can't go to politics, she can only make speeches, but this will trigger "censorship" from the public and get herself into trouble.
Having been a feminist for half a century, Miuccia has rarely been on the cusp of such a storm. She is silent and cautious most of the time. "I never promote my political intentions, because I think in the fashion industry, in the luxury goods industry, it is better to shut up."
But she just didn't shout slogans, not inaction.
For the 2014 spring and summer series, Miuccia collaborated with young mural artists to create a show space. On the T stage, a huge female face interprets multiple femininities. The bra inlaid with beads is like armor and boldly contrasts colors It releases vitality...There is no symbolic feminist slogan. Such expression is implicit, but the effect is shocking.
In the 2017 autumn and winter series, she printed the women on the cover of the 60s novels created by illustrator Robert E. McGinnis on her clothes. Those women have a similar background: in their early 30s, sexy and seductive, they were involved in murder... in the eyes of men. They are femme fatales, and to Miuccia, they hold guns and are not weak.
In the 2018 spring and summer series, Miuccia collaborated with a number of female cartoonists to make female images come to life with a relatively relaxed pop style.
Those women wearing Prada can be Billie Eilish, a rebellious and independent new-born musician, Greta Gerwig, the most popular and talented director, Renée Zellweger, the actress who turned against the wind, or everyone who wants to use clothing as a medium. Express yourself as you and me.
Miuccia has always used rational and artistic methods to interpret the complexity and variety of women, not monotonous, not biased, which stems from her own characteristics and education, she has won respect and recognition, and also made Prada own the brand like her own Such a concrete and free female soul.
In 2004, Miuccia was awarded the International Award by CFDA;
In 2005, Time Magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world;
In 2013, she won the first annual international designer award selected by the British Fashion Awards;
In 2018, she won the "Outstanding Achievement Award" awarded by the Fashion Awards 2018 (Fashion Awards 2018).
In the eyes of others, the 71-year-old Miuccia has earned everything and has everything. She is successful and confident.
German version of Vogue March 2019 cover
Photography: Brigitte Lacombe
What's her next step?
In April of this year, Raf Simons joined Prada and worked with Miuccia Prada as the joint creative director.
This is exciting and full of curiosity. They come from very different backgrounds, but they appreciate each other, they are good at personalized expression, and they are used to seeking inspiration from art and music. Before establishing such a cooperative relationship, they were already Friends for many years.
Raf Simons once said: "I will be very excited if Miuccia Prada is allowed to design my personal brand for a season." He has always admired Miuccia's design and appeared on the show many times. "Prada makes me work for my whole life. In contrast, people are more curious about how Miuccia, who has been at the helm for many years, shares and shares all this with another designer.
"I never wanted to be a prisoner of my own style. I like to move forward." Miuccia's self-confidence does not come from her glorious past, but from her eclectic nature, allowing her creativity to continue to become richer, and then constantly reinventing herself. In an interview, Miuccia was asked to give young artists and designers some advice. Her answer was simple-learn. "Learn fashion, study movies, study art, and then study yourself."
It is undoubtedly a pity for Miuccia to have such an attitude. She has cooperated with many artists in various forms. Now, her cooperation with Raf Simons has opened a new kind of dialogue. Collaborative dialogue between powerful designers. What we can do is look forward to the 2021 Spring/Summer series presented by the two of them for the first time.
On September 24th, we are waiting for this new and open creation, and we are waiting for Prada, which fascinates us again.
You to Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons
Do you have any special expectations for the first womenswear collection?
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