Mario Prada (died in 1958) was the founder and original designer of the fashion label

Prada Prada S.p.A. (, ; ) is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1913 in Milan by Mario Prada. It specializes in leather handbags, travel accessories, shoes, ready-to-wear, and other fashion accessories. Prada licenses its name and branding ...

, a company specializing in many high-fashion goods for men and women, including

shoes A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot. Though the human foot can adapt to varied terrains and climate conditions, it is vulnerable, and shoes provide protection. Form was originally tied to function, but ...

, handbags,

luggage Baggage, or luggage, consists of bags, cases, and containers which hold a traveler's personal articles while the traveler is in transport, transit. A modern tourist, traveler can be expected to have packages containing clothing, toiletries, sma ...

, and

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning (leather), tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffal ...

goods. Prada was founded in 1913.

Founding of Prada

Prada was founded in 1913 by Mario Prada and his brother Martino as Fratelli Prada (English: ''Prada Brothers''). The company was originally headquartered in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, Italy. The first Prada store was opened in the

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II (; ) is Italy's oldest active shopping arcade and a major landmark of Milan. Housed within a four-story double arcade in the centre of town, the ''Galleria'' is named after Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of ...

. The shop sold leather goods and imported English steamer trunks and handbags, as well as travel accessories, beauty cases, jewelry, luxury items, and rare objects. In 1919, Prada was awarded the title of Official Supplier to the Italian Royal Household. This allowed the company to incorporate the House of Savoy's coat of arms and knotted rope design into its logo. As Mario's son harboured no interest in the business, it was Mario's daughter Luisa who took the helm of Prada as his successor and ran it for almost twenty years. Her own daughter,

Miuccia Prada Miuccia Bianchi Prada (; born Maria Bianchi on 10 May 1949) is an Italian billionaire fashion designer and businesswoman. She is the head designer of Prada and the founder of its subsidiary Miu Miu. As of October 2021, ''Forbes'' estimated her n ...

, joined the company in 1970, eventually taking over for her mother in 1978.

References

1958 deaths Year of birth missing Date of death missing 20th-century designers 20th-century Italian male artists 20th-century Italian businesspeople Fashion designers from Milan Italian company founders Prada {{Italy-business-bio-stub

Founding of Prada

See also

References