The history of
The history of Prada
Sep
The History of Prada
Prada was started in 1913 by Mario Prada and his brother Martino. It all started as a leather goods shop ‘Fratelli Prada’ in Milan, Italy. We totally recommend to visit Milan if you’re up to a good shopping spree!
The first Prada store
The first store was opened inside the Galleria Vittoria Emanuele ll. This place is now known for its beautiful architecture and most exclusive stores, such as Louis Vuitton, Yves Saint Laurent and Gucci. However, Prada is the only brand that has 2(!) stores within this beautiful exclusive location. To make it even more memorable, today you can still see the front of the Fratelli Prada store opened in 1913! That’s some piece history, right?!
History of Prada’s family
We know it’s hard to imagine, but Mario Prada wasn’t a fan of women working in his business. He even prevented female family members from entering his company. Ironically and eventually the best for the brands future, Mario’s son had no interest in working for his father. So, it was Mario’s daughter Luisa Prada who took the helm of Prada as his successor and ran it for almost twenty years.
Luisa’s daughter, who most of you will know, Miuccia Prada – the mastermind who eventually led the Prada label on a cautious expansion -, joined the company in 1970. She eventually took over for her mother in 1978. At this time sales were up to 450.000 dollars that year.
Miuccia began making waterproof backpacks out of Pocone, a nylon fabric. Yes, it’s the fabric we love from the 2005 Reedition bag that is now extremely popular. Miuccia met Patrizio Bertelli in 1977, an Italian who had begun his own leather goods business at the age of 24. Patrizio joined the company soon after. He advised Miuccia on company business, which she followed. It was his advice to discontinue importing English goods and to change the existing luggage. To make this story a bit more romantic, Miuccia and Patrizio fell in love and got married in 1978. They now have two children together: Lorenzo Bertelli and Giulio Bertelli.
The history of Prada is a cool one, isn’t it? Feeling inspired by the story to shop some vintage Prada bags yourself? Check out all our beauties in our shop! You can also check our Instagram page for even more inspiration.
